Even Though It's Painful...Always
by Kara
Summary: *Epilogue up--Complete!* 2024--The virus is gone, and Max and Logan finally have a chance to make their life together. But family problems and the rise of Manticore complicate the issue...
1. Running Alone

Even Though It's Painful…Always  
  
By Kara  
  
  
  
Rating: R  
  
Spoilers: Up through "AJBAC"-possible second season  
  
Disclaimer: If I was associated with Dark Angel, Fox, Cameron, or Eglee, would I be writing fanfic?  
  
Summary: When Max gets a call from a sister in trouble, she has to choose between the possibilities of the future, and promises of the past. Follows "Lady in Red", "Blood for Blood," and "Sistahs." A/N: The title comes from a translation of "Setsunakutemo...Zutto" from Fushigi Yuugi, translated by Tasuki No Miko (http://www.crosswinds.net/~tasukinomiko/Anime/FY/). Translated lyrics used with permission.  
  
This is not going to be a pretty fic! Though it looks like it will be a long one…  
  
For Christi Smith Hayden, who in an odd way inspired this with her "Mockingbird," one of the most painfully beautiful Gargoyles stories.  
  
  
  
For Tracy, who gave me ideas, and who still loves the woozle. And for my tattooing partners, Bree and Donna, who will read this even if they don't watch Dark Angel. g  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Prologue: Back to Your Side  
  
  
  
if the years take away  
  
every memory that I have  
  
I would still know the way  
  
that would lead me back to your side  
  
the north star may die  
  
but the light that I see in your eyes  
  
will burn there always  
  
lit by the love we have shared before time  
  
A Love Before Time, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon  
  
  
  
I'd like to say that when I got out of Manticore, it was all roses and romance for me and Logan. At nights in the barracks, I'd dream of it, falling into his arms and making gentle love in his candle-lit apartment, just like in that hallucination I had. But nothing about me has ever been gentle, and when I finally got out of that hellhole for a second time, I didn't greet him with stars in my eyes or words of love at my lips.  
  
  
  
  
  
I escaped to warn him that his life was in danger. Our first kiss was hungry and desperate, but all I passed on to Logan was a virus that killed the romance between us for a very long time. It fucked with us for a while, but we danced around and dealt with it the same way we always did. It was hard, probably the hardest time of my life, but we made it through. And finally, I did fall into his arms, but then I proceeded to weep all over him, like some sissy girl. And we did have sex, but it was anything but gentle. It was an act of desperation, for two consenting adults who hadn't known if they'd ever have this chance again. We screwed it up every time in the past. The first time…he broke down in the middle and collapsed on top of me, sobbing. It was probably the most emotionally-exhausting fuck I'd ever had, and it drained both of us to the point where we slept for two days. But when I woke up in his arms, and found out that it wasn't a dream…  
  
That made all the difference.  
  
  
  
  
  
The world moved on while I was locked away. People changed. I was scared to death that Logan would forget about me, or move on, or give me up for dead. But he never lost hope, not even a little. I don't know if that's just phony sentimentality, or if those in love are truly blind, but his sheer determination kept him going. And I was so hell-bent on getting back to him that I don't know if anything could've stopped me. I didn't want Zack's sacrifice to be for nothing. Someone has to bring this bitch down. The soldier that retreats always lives to fight again.  
  
Damn Manticore. Damn Manticore for taking away everything I've ever loved, and ruining every chance I've had to take my life back. This time, I'm not going to let them.  
  
And I'll bring Manticore down. If not for Zack, then for Tinga, and Case, and Ben and Eva and Jack. For all of my family who died in the fire that night Manticore went down a second time. For Logan, and every tomorrow we might not see because I'm on the run. For everyone who suffered just so that some government agency could send gen-synthed soldiers off to war. It's what I was trained to do. And it's the only way I'll be able to stop running.  
  
Even Though It's Painful, Always  
  
Chapter One: Running Alone  
  
For buggs, because I shoved Dark Angel down her throat in the off-season, and now she clamors for more.  
  
  
  
  
  
Looking down I watch the night  
  
Running from the sun  
  
Orphan stars and city lights  
  
Fading one by one  
  
Oh sweet memories  
  
I call on you now  
  
Two too many hearts been broke  
  
Along this lonely road  
  
Steel gray eyes can shine the lies  
  
Until they look like gold  
  
Cold city sidewalks can turn your heart to stone  
  
The street won't defeat me  
  
Cause I've got the will I'll survive  
  
I don't mind runnin' alone  
  
I believe that every soul  
  
Has a song to sing  
  
The spirit's locked in every man  
  
Waiting for a wing  
  
Oh so much is wasted  
  
And oh so little used  
  
The trick of the dreamer  
  
Is keeping yourself from the blues  
  
And I don't mind runnin'  
  
Everyone's a hero  
  
If you want to be  
  
Everyone's a prisoner  
  
Holding their own key  
  
Every step I take  
  
In every move I make  
  
Always one step closer  
  
I don't mind runnin' alone  
  
Laughing children echo down  
  
The concrete alleyways  
  
Oh their voices  
  
Calling, calling, calling yesterday  
  
Oh sweet memories  
  
Returning to me now  
  
When young eyes saw clearly  
  
Running Alone, Steve Perry  
  
  
  
December 1, 2023  
  
Max stared out the bedroom window at the cold gray light. It was winter. To this day, she wasn't sure how she felt about winter, because part of her still thought of Manticore every time she saw snow fell. Winter meant the turning of the old year into a new one, and training becoming more and more complex. Winter meant barefoot marches in the snow to acclimate their growing bodies to all kinds of weather, and hard days of training outside from before dawn until far into the night.  
  
Maybe it was because it seemed like it was always winter in Wyoming. Snow covered the ground from October into late April sometimes. For her first four years, Max could even remember wondering if the green would come back after the first snow fell. She had to admit that Gillette was the perfect backdrop for a secret government agency-just the right blend of bleak and overpowering.  
  
But as Max rolled over, her body pressing up against the warm bare one next to her under the covers, she remembered what else had happened in the dead of winter. The escape from Manticore had meant rebirth in more than one way. Both times she'd escaped, it had been winter. Both times, only the dogs of hell could've dragged her back. Because of rebirth in winter, she was able to lie under the covers with someone to warm those cold, sleepless nights. And though he complained liberally about how little sleep Eyes Only got these days, Max knew that Logan was also grateful for winter.  
  
"Max?" His voice was sleepy as he instinctively dragged her body closer to his. Though his body still remained dead below the waist, his arms were still perfectly capable. His arm wrapped itself around her waist, his fingers tracing her spinal column until they reached her barcode. It was both a comfort and a turn-on, whenever he rubbed her neck there. This early morning, lying in bed with him, it was more the latter than the former. She didn't need comforting. Life was quiet.  
  
"Just thinking." Logan was beautiful in the morning. He was a fine specimen of man at any time, even for someone who wasn't genetically- engineered, but there was something about the composure in his face in the morning, combined with his undeniable bed-head, and the way he had of blinking owlishly at her without his glasses… In this hour, he was completely hers, and Eyes Only was far from his mind.  
  
A hand reached out to stroke her cheek, and Max found herself looking into light blue eyes--eyes almost the same shade as Jondy's. "Why am I afraid to hear you've been thinking?" He wore that teasing smile on his face. Okay, so her past two thoughtful periods had involved something a little more outrageous than either of them were used to… But Max was trained to think of every option, and sometimes, that over-thought could come up with interesting ideas.  
  
"Because someone's hornier than Kendra in the mornings," she said lightly, pushing back the sandy hair that kept falling into his eyes. "And my girl doesn't exactly have the sex drive of Normal."  
  
Logan closed his eyes briefly, as if he was trying to ward off that image. When he opened them again, there was a little grin on his face. Then, Max found herself on top of him as one of Logan's hands began rubbing at the back of her neck again. "So what were you really thinking?" he asked nonchalantly.  
  
Max tried to focus on his question, but found herself fail miserably. For someone who had taken over a year to finally touch her in any sexual way, Logan had turned out to be a complete hornball. If she didn't know better, she'd almost say that he went into heat-even more often than she did. There were still problems occasionally, but she thanked whoever was in charge every day that Logan was one of the 15% of paraplegic men who could still function sexually…  
  
"About winter," Max managed to say.  
  
"Winter?" If it had been any other time, she would have loved perplexing the brilliant Eyes  
  
Only. But now, all she could think of was the pounding of her blood in her veins and the warmth of Logan's flesh against hers.  
  
"In winter, since it's so cold outside, there isn't a lot you can do." Max nuzzled his neck, feeling the heat building up in her stomach. She gave him a feral grin. "But inside…"  
  
His blue eyes widened, and his grin grew to match her own. "Maybe we should play inside today," Logan whispered between soft kisses.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Where you been, Boo? Normal's eyes almost fell outta his head when I said you was sick again yesterday," Original Cindy said as Max wandered into Jam Pony the next morning. Her best friend gave Max a closer look before grinning. "One of those sick days, huh, Boo?"  
  
Max shrugged. "You get yours once a month, mine comes every three. It all works out in the end." But she couldn't help smiling a little, remembering.  
  
Alec wrinkled his nose as he wheeled his bike by. "Damn, Maxie. I'm happy that you and the Wallet are finally fucking like monkeys, but can you at least shower afterwards?" He grinned as he dodged her blow, but Max hadn't been trying too hard to deck him anyway. She didn't hate her fellow X-5 as much as she used to, but he still annoyed her, especially when he was breathing.  
  
"She has decided to grace us with her presence. Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Guevara." Normal's voice was at its usual sardonic best. "What was it this time? A genetically-enhanced plague? Neural surgery? Airborne ebola virus?" But Max noticed that he had his ever- present can of Lysol clutched in one hand.  
  
  
  
She wondered why she didn't try to get another job sometimes-why any of them stayed. The pay wasn't great, and they got no respect… But the messenger pass in her vest pocket allowed Max access to any sector in the city, and who ever noticed the chick who brought the mail? There was an anonymity that came along with the job, and that itself was worth putting up with Normal and his annoying firetrucking ass. Especially since he more or less ignored the fact that she took long leaves of absence sometimes on one of her quests as Eyes Only Champion, others as Protector of the X-5s.  
  
"Remember three years ago? That day? That day?"  
  
Normal's pale eyes widened, and Max noticed beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He coughed. "Y-yeah…"  
  
She smiled sweetly, forcing her full-blown grin on Normal's scrambled brain. "It was one of those days."  
  
Normal swallowed a few times before responding. "Oh. Umm…oh." He blushed to the roots of his receding hair. "Oh." Max wondered if that day still haunted Normal's dreams. It could explain one reason why he let her get away with shit that no one else could… Second thought, maybe she didn't want to wonder about that…  
  
"You could always just move in with Logan, Boo," Cindy said as they rummaged through their lockers. "Not that Original Cindy don't mind kickin' it with her homegirl, but if you've got a chance to move into a supah fly pad like that, take it, aiight?"  
  
It wasn't like she never thought about moving in with Logan. There were still times when Max had panic attacks, and the only thing that could calm her down was hearing his voice. But living with him wasn't something she was ready for. Even after all they'd been through, they still had a long way to go to dog Manticore, and everything that bitch had done to her.  
  
"I'm still clingin' to my issues, I guess." Max shrugged, jamming her cap over her eyes. "If you ever want me to move out…" Even now, after almost four years of living with Original Cindy, Max still felt uneasy. Yeah, her best girlfriend knew about all the deep dark secrets of her almost-human soul, but that was no guarantee that it didn't creep Cindy out from time to time. Every human has a weakness, even the test-tube babies of Manticore.  
  
And then Cindy's arms wrapped around her, enfolding Max in an incredible feeling of love. "You might not swing for the same team as me, sugar, but you'll always be my boo." Then she grinned at Max. "Besides, if Original Cindy ever need her pad to bring back a homegirl, then she knows her boo's got someplace to go."  
  
  
  
Cindy might not have been genetically engineered, but she was just as good as Jondy sometimes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The weeks flew by until it was almost Christmas. Alec took a leave of absense--told Normal some shit about touring the Southwest as the boxer Monty Cora to make some money. Max knew he was actually helping out Asha and the S1Ws with some plot to overthrow the world somewhere near Vancouver. Maybe some of the Christmas spirit was affecting Mr. Smart Alec. Or he was finally becoming human after all. Logan mentioned something about Alec's heart growing seven sizes like some green guy. Or maybe it was just a way to get Asha back into Alec's bed again. They were always on or off again.  
  
Max never really understood the big deal about Christmas--so some guy had been born in Bethlehem? It wasn't like he'd ever done anything for her. After the betrayal of her own childhood beliefs in the Blue Lady, Max still had a problem admitting to the presence of a higher good. Christmas had always been just another day at Manticore--a day with a skeleton crew that occasionally hummed odd songs under their breath, but just another day. Apparently, Jolly Old Saint Nick didn't cater to the genetically-augmented boys and girls.  
  
But she still went through the motions. She wrestled a dying fir tree into the apartment for Cindy, and then helped Bling haul in a ten-footer for Logan's vaulted ceilings. Joshua settled for yards and yards of blinking red Christmas lights, to the point where Alec said Father's house looked like the Red Light District. Alec would know. And since the fine art of decorating a tree wasn't covered by the Manticore curriculum, she left the decorations up to others. Their tree at home was covered in home-made ornaments Cindy'd picked up over the years, and her Xena collection. Logan's tree was a showcase of family heirlooms, and the glittery cardboard and macaroni ornaments he'd made pre-Pulse in school. Two trees for the two different parts of her life. And yet, both were completely removed from the one life she still had to come to terms with. Manticore would always make her an outsider, even in her own life. And there was nothing she could do to ignore it.  
  
"Max?" Logan wheeled over, running a hand along the back of her neck as she sat on the couch. "You were staring off into space again. I thought I'd lost you for a moment." His tone was light, but Max could still see the fear in his eyes. This was something else that still separated them, even after all they'd been through. She wasn't the only one who woke up crying at night, and needed to hear another voice to make the panic stop.  
  
  
  
Picking herself up from the couch, she let herself drop into Logan's lap as he sat in his wheelchair. His arms automatically wrapped around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder, listening to the reassuring thump of his heartbeat. "What is it?" he asked again, one free hand rubbing her barcode.  
  
But it wasn't something she could put into words. How could you talk about ten years of not knowing where your family was, and another eleven years spent in the closest thing to hell on Earth? Dante might not've been psychic, but sometimes Max swore he foretold of Manticore in the Inferno. All hope abandon, ye who enter there… She was just starting to have hope again, but something kept holding her back.  
  
"I've just got this feeling dogging me," she said finally, resting her forehead against his neck. "Like something's about to go down. It's been too quiet."  
  
The hand at the back of her neck moved to stroke her hair. That also helped comfort her-probably all that feline recombinant DNA. "Has everyone checked in lately?" Logan, as always, was the voice of reason.  
  
"All eight of them." Eight of the original twelve survivors were still alive. Eight, plus Jace down in Mexico. Not a bad record, all things considering… "And Alec's gonna check on Bullet and the others for me when he passes through Vancouver with Asha and her crew."  
  
"How's your nephew?" Logan nuzzled the top of her head. Was he thinking about babies? They'd only seen pictures of Max's namesake, but her nephew was three years old now, and according to Jace, developing the same way Case had.  
  
"Jace says he's the true son of an X-5," she answered lightly, trying not to think how lucky Jace was that he was born at all, without a barcode, or paws, or a tail. "He speaks more Spanish than he does English. And he asks where his papa is a lot." She shifted slightly in his lap, looking up at him. "Jondy'll be here for Christmas. She's gonna crash with me. If you don't mind…"  
  
Logan smiled. "Any sister of yours is a friend of mine," he answered lightly. "I know how much you miss her."  
  
Max chuckled. "Jondy's my homegirl-even more than Cindy is. Jondy was my protector back at Manticore, even before we had names. She's the one who used to sit up with me when we couldn't sleep, and held my hand when I got the shakes." In many ways, Jondy saved her life. "When we were separated, the night we escaped, and I fell through the ice…I cried for days after that. I didn't know what I'd do all alone in the world. I never thought I'd have to face life without her. Without any of them."  
  
Logan's hand fell from her hair and came to rest against the inside of her left breast. "You still have them here," he reminded her, kissing her gently. "Inside your heart." Inside Zack's heart. At least some part of him did live on in her. That was one reason why she'd never forget the sacrifice he made for her. Never. She wasn't a soldier anymore, but she'd always protect her family.  
  
Slowly, he wheeled them over to the window, looking out at the flickering city lights. Max settled herself so that she faced forward in his lap, her back leaning up against his chest. "It's starting to snow," Logan said, his fingers tangling themselves in the chain that she wore around her neck. The action seemed almost subconscious as he fidgeted with her locket, his eyes looking out over Seattle. Maybe he'd sat with his mother like this when he was small, playing with the locket. "You can crash here tonight, if you want." The arm around her waist tightened.  
  
"In the guestroom?" She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked up at him. His mouth was curved into a smug smile, the mood of before forgotten.  
  
"We could sleep in the guestroom, I suppose." Tipping his face towards hers, he kissed her softly. "It's been a while since anyone slept there."  
  
"We could sleep, I suppose," she amended, twisting so that she straddled his legs. "Or we could-"  
  
But before they could get too comfortable, Max heard the sound of someone dropping through the skylight. With one swift movement, she slid off Logan's lap and into a crouch, half-hiding behind the wheelchair. At the moment she heard feet hit Logan's hardwood floors, Max launched herself at whoever was breaking and entering. She was the only one who could use the skylight, thank you very much.  
  
The body that she hit was lithe, but strong. With the grace of a cat, the intruder shook her off, automatically somersaulting into an attack position. There were only so many 'ready' positions, and Max knew each of her brothers' and sisters' as if they were her own. Though the slender woman before her wore a faded blue ski mask over her face, Max recognized the stance. "Jondy!"  
  
The light blue eyes seemed to dance as her sister tore off the mask. "You knew. You're still good, Maxie." Jondy's light brown hair spilled past her thin shoulders. "I knew you wouldn't lose your touch, baby sister." Max found herself in the middle of a tight hug. Jondy had always been one of the smallest X-5s. Even now, she still looked like she was sixteen or seventeen, all brown hair and blue eyes in a face Max could still only call delicate. There was a hardened look about the face though that Max had only seen on prostitutes and soldiers-anyone who'd ever seen a warzone. And though the blue eyes laughed, it seemed like there was a dark shadow in their pale depths, something Max saw often enough in the mirror.  
  
"You're early, Jondy." While she wasn't unhappy to see her sister, Max couldn't help wishing Jondy could have waited an extra day.  
  
Jondy laughed. "At least I wasn't earlier, baby sister. I stopped to see Syl and Krit on the way up, but things got…crowded there."  
  
"Syl and Krit, huh?" After the invasion on Manticore, Logan said the two had gotten close. Max didn't know it was that kind of close. Not that she could blame them. It was human instinct to turn to the one closest to you after you faced a war. Ten years at Manticore had taught her that much.  
  
"Syl and Krit. Something that would've never happened if Zack-" Jondy trailed off as Max led her into Logan's living room. Logan gave them an expectant look as they walked in.  
  
"Happy Holidays, Jondy," he said, giving her a smile.  
  
Jondy leaned in, leaving a light kiss on his cheek. "Happy Holidays to you too, brother." Though her face smiled, there was a grateful look in her eyes. "Thanks for allowing me to intrude on your celebration."  
  
"You're Max's family," Logan answered simply. "If I can handle Alec for extended periods of time, I think I can handle you." Jondy snorted at that. "The guestroom is yours as long as you need it, Jondy." The fact that he understood her so well was one of the reasons why Max loved him so much, especially at moments like this. Especially when he turned back to her with a laugh in his blue eyes. "Looks like you'll be staying in the guestroom after all, huh, Max?"  
  
Before she could answer, Logan blinked and yawned, the emotions of the day seeming to finally catch up with him. "I'll leave you ladies, if you don't mind," he said, as if Max and Jondy were society ladies, and not synthetic killing machines. When she leaned in to kiss him goodnight, he moved his lips to her ear. "If you need me…"  
  
Max ran her fingers through his spiky hair. "If you need me," she replied, in the same quiet tone. His answer was the soft smile meant only for her.  
  
"Night, Jondy. Night, Max." And with a wave to them both, he wheeled himself down the hall towards his bedroom.  
  
When they reached the guestroom, Jondy threw herself down on the bed, testing the mattress. "Softer than Manticore," she remarked. It was hard to miss the sardonic note in her light voice.  
  
Max laid down beside her sister. "The ground is more comfortable than our barracks at Manticore were. Even those pallets we had, when we were small…" She had dim memories of the room they'd lived in for the first five years of their lives. She remembered the pallet on the floor with one firm pillow and one coarse blanket, and how she used to huddle under hers with Jondy on the nights they couldn't sleep. "It always comes back to Manticore, doesn't it?"  
  
Jondy moved closer to her on the bed, leaning up against her in the same way they did when they were small. "It's a bitch we'll never beat, no matter how far we run, or how long the project has been closed." She gave a non-committal shrug. "It's burnt into our genes, just like our barcodes. I try to shake it whenever I can, but…"  
  
Max rested her head on Jondy's shoulder, letting herself be the baby sister again for a moment. "Don't you get lonely?" They'd all had their failed relationships. Zane had even almost gotten married once, years before. Now their biggest brother let only one woman into his heart-his dog, Millie. Only she and Logan were still together--the sole survivors of Manticore and the havoc it wrecked on every X-5 relationship--those who let themselves have relationships. But Logan had been clued into her less than conventional origins from the start, and their road hadn't been an easy one. It would never be an easy one.  
  
Jondy's hand toyed with Max's curls, something that always managed to comfort her. "My knight never came," her big sister said simply. "I had something for a moment, but…"  
  
"But Manticore took it away." Max didn't need to ask. She knew the drill all too well. But Jondy did answer, because a soldier always answered what she was asked, even if it wasn't a direct question. "Did he look like Zack?"  
  
She waited for Jondy to chuckle, but her sister never did. After a long silence, Max pulled away. It almost surprised her, to see tears running down Jondy's face. Almost.  
  
"It was Zack."  
  
Now it was Jondy's turn to be the little sister. The other girl seemed even smaller as Max held her close, the same way she'd once held Tinga, and Brin. It was kind of funny, how automatic a reflex it was now, to reach out to her sisters as they had once reached out to comfort her. Maybe filling Zack's shoes wasn't such a stretch after all.  
  
But it didn't help the guilt she felt. Max had never told Jondy about Adam, and the man Zack had become. He was still on that ranch in Idaho, going on with his life like he'd never known the hell known as Manticore. None of her brothers and sisters knew, just like none of them knew about what really happened to Ben. But if Jondy loved Zack…  
  
"He was there the first time I went into heat when I was fifteen. It scared me so badly… But we dealt with it, and he held me when I cried afterward. He was gone the next morning, but he'd been there when I needed him." Max could hear Jondy swallowing. "He'd seen it with Tinga, so he kind of knew what to expect. He knew that Case was the result of Tinga's heat, but Tinga loved Charlie so much."  
  
Max didn't want to think of the first time she'd gone into heat at fourteen. It was before Seattle, before Washington even. She might've still been in Oregon then, on the outskirts of Salem. All she could remember to this day was the incredible hunger, and the heat boiling her blood… The doctors at Manticore had never explained this particular bitch of a side effect to her feline DNA. While her foster sisters had gotten periods over the years, Max had just sat and waited, not knowing what Manticore had in store for her. That first time…  
  
"At least you had Zack then," she said softly, stroking Jondy's silky brown hair. "You had someone to protect you and hold you then…" At least, out of the five of her sisters that had escaped alive, only Tinga had gotten pregnant while she was in heat. One out of six-not bad odds. And up to her death, Tinga thought it was worth the price. Max didn't know how Charlie felt about it, but for her oldest sister, any child was worth it.  
  
"He changed that day," Jondy continued, her eyes staring at the wall as if she could see the past written there. "He stopped being my big brother. But for him, I was always baby sister Jondy. He had eyes for only one X-5, and that wasn't me."  
  
For a while, Max couldn't look at her older sister. She knew well enough who Zack had eyes for. She knew it as well as she knew whose heart beat in her chest. She still heard his voice at night sometimes, that desperate tone echoing over and over--but I love you, Max, I love you… "I'm sorry," she said finally. "I'm sorry…"  
  
Jondy smiled slightly, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "There are some things in life that you can't change, soldier," she said lightly, echoing the words of a man they'd only called the Colonel. "Nobody controls his own life, Maxie."  
  
"The best you can do is choose to fill the roles given you by good people, by people who love you," Max continued, remembering the night at Manticore that a book had changed their entire world.  
  
"I could never hate you, baby sister. I didn't like you for a while, after I realized…" Jondy's thin shoulders shook slightly. "But then word came that you were back at Manticore again, and about what Zack had done, and I saw Logan…" She shook her head, her fine brown hair hiding her face from Max for a moment. "You paid your price. I saw both of you pay the price for what you had, and I was glad that I didn't have to go through it. I was happy with the small things I had with Zack, because they never cost me what your time with Logan has cost you, or the time Tinga spent with Charlie cost her."  
  
They sat again, leaning up against each other like they were still two little girls, clinging together out of fear of the unknown. Even after years of being outside, there were still times when Max longed for the security of Manticore, and the fact that she knew, day in and day out, what her objective would be. Duty. Responsibility. Courage. Those never changed. But outside…outside was a lot more complicated than a nine year old's brain would ever be able to comprehend.  
  
"Do you ever wish--" Max trailed off, not knowing if she should even ask the question. But Jondy knew, because of the years they'd spent together, and the years they'd spent apart.  
  
"Even though I've had more lives than our feline DNA should allow, and even though I've lost more people I loved in each of those lives than most do in one, I don't wish it. No regrets, Maxie. We had our chance, and we took it, and if we hadn't…"  
  
"Brin," Max finished softly.  
  
"Brin," Jondy echoed. There was nothing more that had to be said. "Just a little less independence in us, and a little more kindness in them, and I don't know if we'd ever have bailed. If you hadn't gotten the shakes that night…"  
  
It was a scene she'd run through her mind so many times that it sometimes seemed like it was a story she'd heard once, that had happened to someone else. She'd been in such a daze then, the seizures not quite worn off. The part she remembered most, even to this day, was Zack pressed against one side, and Jondy clinging to her hand on the other. "If Eva hadn't grabbed the gun."  
  
Jondy's eyes closed, as if she was also reliving that night. "And Zack hadn't attacked the guard who was going to take you." She opened them again, turning to look back at Max. "Did I ever tell you I was sorry, Maxie? It ate at me for years, thinking of you under the ice."  
  
Max could feel her mouth quivering as she tried to quirk a smile. "It's all good, big sister," she said finally, unconsciously echoing words a sister had once said to her. "I got out, and we ended up finding each other again, so it all worked. It's all good."  
  
Jondy laughed suddenly. "Taking lessons from Herbal, Max?"  
  
Max surprised herself by laughing back. "Herbal's Ja seems like a decent thing to believe in, if you go for that whole faith thing." She shrugged. "Not my cuppa. Gods and faith are for people born human."  
  
"That is true, my sistah." Jondy's voice echoed the slowed cadence of Herbal's. "You okay, Maxie? You seem tired." One of her small hands stroked Max's hair again.  
  
Trying to smother a yawn, Max nodded. "I've just been a little tired lately. Not sleeping, but tired, y'know?" She shifted so that her head rested on Jondy's shoulder, the way she imagined she might've done if she had a mother. "It could be the weather, or the season. Seattle isn't exactly the happiest place on earth." The weather, the season, memories…  
  
"When was your last heat?" There was an odd note in her sister's voice.  
  
"Two weeks ago." Not that it made much of a difference when it came to her and Logan. His sex drive seemed as strong as her sometimes, to the point where she wondered how much her transfused blood had affected him. He didn't go into heat the way she did, but somehow, her cycles seemed to throw him into overdrive sometimes.  
  
"Two weeks. That could explain it."  
  
Max looked up at her sister at that cryptic answer, but Jondy refused to say anything. "I'm not pregnant, Jondy. We're careful when I'm in heat. I haven't caught once."  
  
The sudden darkening of Jondy's face scared Max. "It doesn't mean it can't happen, baby sister." Her sister's voice was emotionless. But before Max could ask anything else, Jondy yawned, rubbing at her eyes with her fists. "Now you've got me tired." A little bit of a smile had returned to her face..  
  
"How long were you on the road?" Max asked as they turned down the comforter of the bed.  
  
Jondy kicked off her boots and tossed them in a heap with her jeans on the floor. "Since Tuesday. Or maybe Monday. I just felt like leaving. I can't stay put now, even when I don't have to run." She slid under the covers, wriggling into the mattress the same way she used to do on her cot in the barracks. "I parked my baby next to yours in the garage."  
  
Max walked to the bureau and dug for one of Logan's spare shirts that he kept there. Folding her clothes neatly beside Jondy's, she fell into bed. "At least you've never had a roommate who used your baby as a clothesline," she grumbled, tugging some of the covers free of Jondy's grip. Soldier or not, her sister had always hogged covers.  
  
"Night, baby sister." As she closed her eyes, Max felt a light kiss on her forehead, and the shift in the mattress as Jondy settled close to her body.  
  
"Night, big sister." She yawned again, and then let sleep take her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was just after dawn when Logan woke up, mainly because of the empty space beside him in bed. Max didn't spend every night with him-there were even entire weeks when he wouldn't see her, because she was off visiting one X-5 or another. But somehow, he couldn't really sleep unless she was there anymore. Four years and more of knowing her and loving her had changed his life in countless ways. If he rationalized it out, it was even worth being sentenced to the chair, if only for that handful of days of walking beside her, dancing with her, loving her…  
  
Yeah, his sleep patterns were screwed up now, and he had to go shopping for food a lot more. That didn't matter when he looked at the impact Max had made on his little rich boy's life. It wasn't just the fact that he had his own personal super hero to help save the world. It was the fact that she was Max, and she loved him, and that was a miracle.  
  
Pushing back the covers, Logan groped for his glasses, and then for the exoskeleton that stood next to his side of the bed, the ever-present sentinel in his life. Sliding his lifeless legs into it, he flipped the power switch, and was relieved when it didn't short out. He still had days like that, when he had to resort to the chair. It didn't happen often, but it was infuriating when it did.  
  
His faded khakis went over the exoskeleton, and shoes and socks after the khakis. Showering was something he didn't feel like dealing with this morning. It was hard enough maneuvering the chair into the bathroom, and then hoisting himself onto the seat in the shower. It was easier with Max with him, letting her hold him up under the water… But that wasn't something he needed to think about, with Max's sister in the apartment.  
  
As Logan walked down the hall, he couldn't help peering into the guestroom on his way to the kitchen. He was surprised to see the bed still occupied, though. For a moment, he could almost see the little girls Max and Jondy had been, curled up with their heads on the same pillow. Sisters light and dark. There was poetry in it, somewhere. Though Jondy was fair where Max was dark, he could still see a resemblance in their faces. Maybe it was the way both seemed to sleep on edge, as if they were unable to completely relax. Or maybe it was the identical frowns pressed into the still young faces. Max was right. Manticore would always dog her brothers and sisters. It was the one thing they shared that Logan could never be a part of--something he wasn't sure he even wanted.  
  
As if she felt the presence of an intruder, Jondy's blue eyes opened. Logan could almost feel the tension coiling in her body as Jondy automatically slipped to the floor into a crouch.  
  
"It's Logan," he said softly, trying not to alarm her. He still had a scar on the inside of his forearm from when he'd woken Max too suddenly, two years before.  
  
The light brown head shook, and Jondy's blue eyes came into focus as she smiled sheepishly. "Reflexes" was all she would say as she reached for her jeans on the floor. Max didn't really like talking about Manticore either, so Logan knew when not to pry.  
  
Jondy followed him into the kitchen, hoisting herself up on the counter as he started to cook breakfast.  
  
"Eggs and pancakes okay?"  
  
Her stomach rumbled in response. "As long as it's not nutritionally- enhanced military rations, I'm happy."  
  
"So that's what they fed you at Manticore. That explains a lot about Max and food…" And it did, actually. Sometimes Logan forgot how much he took for granted, to the point of almost not remembering how Max was raised and what she was born to do. She wasn't a soldier to him. She was Max, the woman he loved. The only woman he knew who could eat anyone under the table.  
  
But as he watched the petite brunette beside him, Logan could see other resemblances between Jondy and Max. There was something in their mannerisms…something about the complete focus and passion that they turned to everything they did… Though Max always said she had the ability to multi-task with the best of them, she tended to center on one action as if life depended on it, even if it was devouring a stack of blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs.  
  
"So, whatcha get Maxie for Christmas?" Jondy asked, maple syrup dripping down her pointed chin. From the way she was eyeing the plate, Logan wondered if she'd lick it clean, the same way Max did sometimes.  
  
He heaped another stack on her plate. "Max? Nothing much." Jondy would probably laugh at him for being so sentimental. Bling had just kind of stared at it when Logan showed him, and Original Cindy hadn't said anything at all. But Jondy was Max's closest sister…  
  
Her blue eyes plainly said that she didn't believe him. For an X-5, it surprised him how expressive Jondy's face was. Zack and the others always seemed to wear a constant scowl, even Syl, who was almost as beautiful as Max was. But Max…it was to easy to read her emotions by the look she wore, if you knew her well enough…  
  
With a sigh, Logan stood, walking to the junk drawer where he kept old mail, rubberbands, and the scissors with one broken point. Max wasn't the kind of person to go pawing through his apartment, looking for gifts, but she'd surprised him before. Fumbling around for a few moments, he brought out a rumpled handkerchief that Grandfather Cale had once used. He laid the wad of white silk on the table and sat back, letting Jondy examine it.  
  
He looked at his hands until he heard her gasp, and the sound of a small box hitting the table.  
  
"You can't, Logan." Her voice was soft.  
  
He was almost afraid to meet her eyes. But Logan looked up at Jondy and the ring that she held between two slender fingers. "You can't, Logan. It's beautiful, but…"  
  
The gold ring felt cold as she placed it back into his hand. The single diamond seemed to mock him as it sparkled in the sunlight. "Forever eyes, dark, my angel," the inscription on the inside read.  
  
"Logan." Strong fingers tipped his face up, forcing him to look into a pair of stormy blue eyes. "She's not ready yet," Jondy said softly. There were tears in the blue eyes. "She loves you, but there's still a long way that she has to go…"  
  
His vision blurred for a moment, but he nodded. He knew that. He wanted to give Max all the time in the world, but after holding her dying body in his arms at Manticore…after those nights of not knowing where she was or if he'd see her again… They were always living on borrowed time, but he wanted to make the most of it, before life ruined what they had again. "Had we but world enough, and time," he whispered, staring at the ring. "But at my back I always hear Time's wingéd chariots hurrying near."  
  
"Though we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run," Jondy countered. She quirked a quick grin. "Andrew Marvell wasn't on Manticore's reading list, but some of us did some extracurricular research." Her hand reached out, covering the ring he had clutched in both of his. Her hand was not much bigger than a child's, the same as Max's. "She loves you, Logan. But she does need time. You might run out of time before she's ever ready, but do you really want to throw everything away now for something that's just a formality?"  
  
He slipped the ring back into the velvet box, wrapped the box in the folds of silk, and shoved both back into the junk drawer. Jondy had a point. Max was the kind of person who'd run if she thought she was being hunted, and they all knew too well that there was more than one way to hunt, and more than one type of predator.  
  
Yet, why did he feel like she'd never wear his ring?  
  
"Damn. You started the party without me." When Logan looked up, Max stood in the doorway, wrapped in his thick red robe, hair still wet from the shower.  
  
"Your man's a good cook, Maxie." Jondy grinned around a mouthful of pancakes, already polishing off her second stack.  
  
"Don't hog all the food, Jondy." Logan watched her give her sister a playful shove as she pulled up a chair with her foot and flopped down. Society lady Max was not, but she had a grace and charm all her own.  
  
"So what's the dealio with Christmas? Are we entertaining?" Jondy shoved the remainder of pancakes onto Max's plate. Logan laughed as the woman he loved attacked them like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"Cindy and I promised we'd stop by Joshua's Christmas Eve." Jondy wrinkled her nose at that. Apparently Jondy hadn't quite gotten over her apathy towards Joshua. Logan didn't exactly blame her. Joshua was kind-hearted and a loyal friend to Max and Alec, but as much as Logan hated to admit it, something still bothered him about the dog-man. "He's making popcorn, and there's some book he wants to show me. And then we're having breakfast for Christmas Day or something--some whacked family tradition," Max said with a shrug, as if she was trying to pretend it meant nothing to her.  
  
Sliding the last platter of pancakes and eggs on the table, Logan took back his place between the two women. "On Christmas Day, the three of us have been invited to brunch with my Aunt Margot. She's anxious to meet more of Max's family. Max just wanted you to come along to help her piss off my aunt," he added with a grin. There were times when being a paraplegic was a blessing, like when Max decided to kick his leg. He didn't feel the actual impact, but Jondy doubtlessly noticed the movement under the table.  
  
"And there's someone I want you to meet at midnight, Jondy. He's…a friend." Logan didn't know what Max's plans were, but for the past two Christmases, she'd disappeared on him at midnight, and come back a few hours later, smelling of incense and pine. They all had private traditions to keep, and he knew that the few rituals Max actually kept from her childhood meant a lot to her.  
  
He sat back in his chair, watching the two women alternate talking and eating. Though he barely touched his share of breakfast, Max and Jondy easily demolished the meal, leaving nothing left but syrup stains on their faces and egg crumbs on the plates. Something Lydecker said once came to mind, about how different his kids were. It wasn't that they weren't human, they were just…more. They were faster, smarter, stronger. They felt things more intensely. Love and loyalty were so deeply ingrained into them that no act could be done without incredible passion. There was room for great ecstasy, but also an incredible fall into pain. There was no gray in their world. It was either black or white, love or hate.  
  
And Max loved him. She loved him with the same forthrightness that she put into everything from protecting her family to making sure she got her share of the grub. It was her way, and all Logan could do was hope that she wouldn't burn out too soon. Angels are bright still, though their brightest brother fell…  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Christmas Eve, 2023  
  
"A church, Maxie?" Jondy sounded surprised as she turned off her bike. "I didn't know you'd gone to religion, like Zane." Faith, and his dog Millie. That was all that their next biggest brother needed.  
  
"It's not the church," Max said, parking her Ninja next to Jondy's. She still laughed, sometimes, at the fact that half of her brothers and sisters rode motorcycles. Not for necessity, the way some people did, but because of the power, the exhilaration, the speed… "It's the man inside."  
  
The bells chimed midnight as they walked into the vestibule of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Max took a seat in the last pew as the midnight vigil unfolded around her. Though she understood little of the pomp and procedures, she recognized the actions for what they were-ritual. She doubted that the young priest at the altar even really knew what it all meant anymore. It was just humanity's interpretation of what they thought their vision of a higher power would want. The same way twenty-four nine year olds thought that sacrificing their baby teeth to a blue lady would protect them from nomalies and a man they only called the Colonel.  
  
Beside her, Max could hear Jondy whispering the words of the mass along with the parishioners, not consciously, but the same way they'd gone through their training exercises at dawn at Manticore. Small things to comfort people in a world of the unknown. People clung to these small things even now-especially now. Even X-5s did.  
  
Max barely noticed when the mass ended. She began to make her way towards the altar, weaving through the crowds moving towards the door. Even in dark times, the church was full at Christmas, as if the power of their faith alone could change the world.  
  
Jondy's hand slipped into hers as they approached the statue in the nave of the church. She knew, from the way her sister's hand tightened its grip on hers, that Jondy recognized the statue. But the statue was only part of the reason why she came.  
  
"Ben," Jondy whispered, as she caught sight of the priest. Under the priest's fringe of brown hair, Max could see what looked like the bottom of a barcode. So he still hadn't gotten the tattoo removed.  
  
She moved in front of her sister, blocking the way to where the man stood. "It's not Ben. His name's Father Destry. He's the one that Ben tried to-"  
  
"Max!" The priest caught sight of her, surprise lighting up his eyes. He reached out, taking both of her hands in his. "Merry Christmas, Max. It's been almost a year, hasn't it?"  
  
She nodded. "A year exactly, Father." Turning slightly, Max pulled Jondy up beside her. "I wanted to introduce you to my sister, Father Destry. Jondy, this is Father Destry."  
  
The priest's blue eyes darkened for a moment. "Your sister?" There was pain in his eyes as he smiled at them. "Welcome, Jondy. Any family of Max's is welcome here." Neither of them said anything about the irony of that statement…  
  
Max noticed Jondy's lips quivering as she shook the priest's hand. "A pleasure, Father Destry. I noticed that you have a very interesting tattoo on the back of your neck." Max hid a smile. Her big sister had never been subtle. It wasn't part of the curriculum at Manticore.  
  
Father Destry's eyes met Max's before he answered. The priest had never asked questions about what really happened that day, but he had prayed for Ben's soul, whatever good that might do. Max would never admit it to anyone, but sometimes she hoped that prayer gained her laughing big brother entrance to the Good Place. "Call it a badge of honor." Destry's tone was light. This man had cried for Ben, and for Max, when she'd confessed what end her brother had come to.  
  
Jondy smiled a small smile. "A dubious honor." She nodded towards the statue, the one that Max noticed her sister avoided looking towards at all costs. "The Lady--you believe in her?"  
  
Father Destry's answer was a simple nod. "She keeps me safe. Her ways are beyond my comprehension at times, but the Virgin Mary protects and keeps me."  
  
Jondy reached into the pocket of her leather jacket. What she pulled out was a card Max recognized from a life when she'd only been a number. "This was my brother Jack's. Could you keep it safe for me?"  
  
Destry took the faded card. Max could see the questions in his eyes, but she knew the priest's vocation would keep him from asking. "I promise." His eyes met Max's. There were no questions, just a look full of incredible emotions -sorrow, loss, sympathy. This was one of the few men who might understand what it was to grow up an X-5. He bore the mark of one, and knew what it was like to be hunted. That in and of itself almost made him an honorary brother.  
  
"Your brother Ben-" The priest hesitated, as if he was afraid of saying too much. "His faith was strong in the Lady. Is yours?"  
  
Jondy froze beside her. Max could almost feel her sister's anger-the same passionate anger that had protected Max more than once from Lydecker's wrath. "It was once," Jondy said finally. She looked up at the priest, her mouth curved into a stubborn look that reminded Max of Zack. "But faith left me a long time ago. I'd rather run alone." And she walked out.  
  
"I'm sorry…" Max couldn't think of anything else to say. From the moment an X-5 walked into his life, Max's brothers and sisters had shown the priest what hell really was.  
  
But Father Destry only shrugged, looking down again at the crumpled card in his hand. "Many lose touch with faith," he said finally. "But sometimes, they find it again. She believed once. Our Lady still watches over her, as mother to us all."  
  
Which was fine and dandy. Except that X-5s didn't have mothers.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Jondy leaned up against her bike, staring at the crumbling outline of the church. Faith. She'd given up on faith a long time ago, even before Zack was killed and Max was taken back to Manticore. Faith left her before she'd found herself pregnant with Zack's child four years ago, knowing that he left her bed because he was chasing a phantom lover in Seattle. The divorce with faith had come early, when she was nine years old, and saw the sister she loved best fall beneath a sheet of ice in the dead of winter…  
  
She wasn't cold, even though her breath hung in the air like ice. Manticore had given her that much-the ability to survive, as hard as she tried to kill herself. Jondy wondered how many of her brothers and sisters had scars on their wrists to show where some interfering bitch had stopped them from ending it all. In her case, it had been her roommate. The pale cuts were jagged, because of the way her hands shook when her seizures came. But it had almost done the trick…almost…  
  
If her nature had tended towards the melodramatic the way Ben's had always done, or the extremes, the way Zack's had, she would have died of alcohol poisoning years ago. Her body was a temple, created by man. Why desecrate it with man-made toxins like alcohol or drugs? Better to burn out in a brilliant flash of light, defying and fulfilling her destiny as a soldier. Part of her wanted to die for a cause, the way Zack had. Part of her still woke up, chanting Duty, Objective, Responsibility. A small part of her wished she was still at Manticore sometimes, before they'd be awakened and enlightened and realized how much more complicated the world really was.  
  
"Jondy?" Maxie's voice was hesitant in the darkness. Max, the person she loved and hated most on the earth, because she had everything Jondy ever wanted, including Zack. Including the price that came with it.  
  
"It's okay, baby sister."  
  
Max came up to lean beside her, an instinct as old as Manticore. They'd had nothing but each other for comfort there. It was natural that they still sought it, even years later. It was what drove Syl into the arms of Krit, and Jondy to seek out Zack. It was clinging to someone who knew. Her baby sister had been there and back again, and Jondy could still see the shadows of it in Max's dark eyes.  
  
"Do you believe in all that shit, Maxie?"  
  
Max had never seemed as gung ho about it as Ben did. They all wanted to believe in the Good Place. That was natural. But the only part of Manticore that her little sister had really bought into was family, and that was one weakness that they all shared.  
  
  
  
"If there was a god, and he was glorious because he made man, what does that make us? Proof that man is as great as God?" The bitterness in Max's voice surprised Jondy, even as it didn't. They all bore the scars of Manticore--some burned deeper than others. "They say Jesus sacrificed his life so that the people loved would be saved. But it doesn't take the son of God to do that." Though her eyes were on the church, Jondy knew Max was seeing something else. "Someone sacrificed his life for me, and he was only a man. A soldier. But I don't worship him."  
  
Max only loved him, not as Jondy did, but she still loved him. Protector, savior, soldier. Zack.  
  
Her sister's hand found Jondy's in the darkness. For all her talk, Max was still the same little sister that Jondy had tried to protect for most of her young life. Only now, she was trying to take the place of big brother as well as baby sister. Zack had always worried more than he had to. Yeah, they were hunted, but the X-5s had been raised for the hunt, as both predator and prey. Escape and Evade was never just a game. It was a way of life. And if they all made stupid choices sometimes, it was something that could be blamed all on too human genes, complete with human fallibility.  
  
For the hundredth time in that hour of that day, Jondy wished she'd had a normal life, with normal parents, and a normal genetic code, if only to forget the burdens Manticore forced on its children.  
  
For the hundredth time in that hour of that day, she wished she could comfort her little sister, in spite of the life they had, and the road that was chosen for them before they were born. That was Manticore's one failing-making the X-5s too human.  
  
Everyone's a hero  
  
If you want to be  
  
Everyone's a prisoner  
  
Holding their own key  
  
Every step I take  
  
In every move I make  
  
Always one step closer  
  
I don't mind runnin' alone  
  
Laughing children echo down  
  
The concrete alleyways  
  
Oh their voices  
  
Calling, calling, calling yesterday  
  
Oh sweet memories  
  
Returning to me now  
  
When young eyes saw clearly 


	2. A Long Way to Run

Even Though It's Painful, Always…  
  
Chapter Two: Long Way to Run  
  
Are these times contagious  
  
I've never been this bored before  
  
Is this the prize I've waited for  
  
Now as the hours passing  
  
There's nothing left here to insure  
  
I long to find a messenger  
  
Have I got a long way to run  
  
Yeah, I run  
  
Is there a cure among us  
  
From this processed sanity  
  
I weaken with each voice that sings  
  
In this world of purchase  
  
I'm going to buy back memories  
  
To awaken some old qualities  
  
Have I got a long way to run  
  
Yeah, I run  
  
--Collective Soul, Run  
  
As they entered the restaurant on the waterfront, Logan had to try hard not to grin. Max and Jondy flanked his wheelchair on either side, both dressed so impeccably in conservative sweaters and skirts that he doubted even Aunt Margot could find a fault with them. Max had thrown a fit royale, much to Jondy's amusement, when he'd explained the dress code. But she and Jondy had both turned up this morning dressed so well that Logan thought a boutique in the Mall might be missing a few outfits…  
  
Bennett and Marianne waved from their table by the window, but his beloved aunt only wore her usual frosty smile. Since the fall of Cale Enterprise and the trust that had given her the wealthy edge, Margot Cale had turned into a bitter woman. Logan knew that Bennett and Marianne survived, mostly due to the fact that Bennett was actually putting his Yale law degree to use, and Marianne subsidized his income with her teacher's salary. But Aunt Margot--she had to depend on the kindness of strangers, living off stock-option remainders and what she could scrounge from her once decadent lifestyle.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Aunt Margot." As he rolled by the woman, he dropped a light kiss on her cheek. His aunt had turned haggard in the past four years. There were streaks of gray in her blond hair that coloring just wouldn't hide. Though she still had the last vestiges of beauty, she couldn't use the glamour of wealth anymore. Compared to faded Margot, Max and Jondy shone like the sun.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Logan." Her smile softened a bit, making him wonder if the old bitch really did have feelings in that calculating heart of hers. It wasn't as if she was a cold-blooded killer like his Uncle Jonas. Maybe Aunt Margot really was just blinded by money. "And Max. It's so good to see you again, dear." His aunt stood, giving Max the required kiss to each cheek.  
  
"How French of you, Margot. You've reminded me of how much I miss the Gallic air," Max drawled, looking at his aunt through her dark eyelashes. For someone of an unconventional upbringing, Max could be as snide and arrogant as any of his aunt's society.  
  
But Max must have noticed the pained look that crossed over Logan's face, because she immediately gave his aunt a more apologetic look. "Merry Christmas, Margot," she amended, returning the required kiss.  
  
"And who is this delightful young woman?" Bennett broke in. Logan shot his cousin a grateful look. "I'm Bennett Cale, as my scoundrel cousin has doubtlessly forgotten to tell you. And this is my wife, Marianne."  
  
Logan laughed softly at the wince on Bennett's face as he shook Jondy's hand. "Jondy Guevara," Max's sister said smoothly, giving his cousin her most ingenuous blue-eyed look. Logan could see where Max had picked that one up, having fallen prey to it often enough himself. "Of the Greenwich Guevaras."  
  
Marianne coughed to cover a smile. "Of course," she said "Sit down, please. Max rarely speaks of her family, so we were very interested to meet you."  
  
Max automatically moved the chair away from the head of the table for him, then slid into the chair to his right. Her hand found his under the table. "We're your basic family, so there isn't much to talk about," she said in a noncommittal tone. "How's your class, Marianne?"  
  
But Aunt Margot wasn't going to let it drop. "You look nothing alike, dear. It's almost hard to believe that you are sisters." The snide look returned to his aunt's face.  
  
"We don't really like to talk about that." Jondy smiled sweetly, masking the fact that she was holding Max down by straightening the locket on Max's chain. "What with it being highly confidential information--the experiment, and the recombinant DNA... Daddy didn't like people to know. Military secrets and all that."  
  
Logan could see his aunt trying to digest that information.  
  
"So your father wasn't the mailman?" Bennett grinned at Jondy conspiratorially.  
  
Luckily for Logan, his cousin had inherited a sense of humor from somewhere- obviously not from the Cale side…  
  
Jondy grinned back. "That's always my second tactic. I leave the alien hybrid theory for late nights at the bar." She shrugged, her face serious again. "Our parents couldn't have children, so they adopted. It wasn't a horrid upbringing--Greenwich in summer, tea at the Compound in Hyannisport…You know, the usual. Our father was military--a colonel--so we moved around a lot." Max choked at that. Jondy shot her sister a dirty look before continuing. "Our parents died when we were young, and we were split up. Now, we get together when we can." Giving her sister a last squeeze about the shoulders, Jondy sat back, flashing Logan a quick smile.  
  
After four years with Max, Logan thought that nothing would surprise him anymore. Apparently, he was wrong. Jondy was an amazing woman, but that was almost expected, since she was Max's favorite sister.  
  
"I remember when Logan's mother died. It was a tragedy--she was a beautiful woman. You were what, eleven, Logan?" There was almost a wistful look on his aunt's face. "His father didn't last too long after that."  
  
"Four years, Aunt Margot." Four years of hell, living with a drunk father who thought mourning was for women and pansies--a man who considered his son little better than a mama's boy. "I was fifteen when they sent me to live with you." Followed by another two years of living a rich boy's wet dream, playing the same tired social intrigue games… College had been a dream for Logan. AP classes and summer session allowed him to finish Yale in three years--three years away from his family, that itself was a blessing. But a BA in journalism only did so much in a Post-Pulse world. His degree meant nothing to his pedigreed family. The work he accomplished through his articles and exposes only brought his family's opinion of him down. But none of it really mattered in those years. It wasn't until he was thirty-one that his world took the great dramatic turn, when a gen- synthed cat burglar decided to fall through his skylight one night…  
  
"That's a lovely locket you've got on, Max. Might I see it?" The ice returned to his aunt's voice as she reached out one thin hand across the table.  
  
Max stood, catching on to Aunt Margot's game. Logan watched as Max took the chain, holding the locket closer to Aunt Margot's elegant nose. "It was Logan's mother's. See? On the back, his father engraved the date." Without letting his aunt touch it, Max turned the locket over. Logan didn't need to look to know what the engraving said. "For Sara, for her greatest gift. November 11, 1988."  
  
Aunt Margot sniffed, almost as if she knew she was defeated. "I thought it was familiar," his aunt said, not meeting anyone's eyes. "It's beautiful."  
  
With a cat's look of satisfaction, Max sat back beside him. "Yes, it is."  
  
"Almost as beautiful as the woman who wears it," Logan whispered in her ear. He reached out with one hand to rub the back of her neck. His fingers lightly traced the puckered scar just below her barcode.  
  
"If Logan gave you the locket, Max, I'm surprised he hasn't given you a ring yet." Again, his Aunt Margot wore her smug look. "Unless you won't marry him now that his money is gone."  
  
There was a stunned silence. Logan and Jondy both reached out at the same time for Max's shoulders, in case she decided to take a flying leap over the table to tackle his aunt to the ground.  
  
"Bennett took almost five years to propose to me," Marianne spoke up, breaking the silence. "In this day, isn't it better to make sure that the one you marry is the right one?" Logan saw her smile at Bennett, reaching for his cousin's hand. "Not that I wasn't sure."  
  
"Our sister married young," Jondy said, an almost lost look in her eyes. "She knew right away that Charlie was the one, and they had five years together, and a beautiful little boy."  
  
Marianne leaned forward, Margot forgotten. "What happened?"  
  
"She died." Max's voice was flat. "And now, her husband is left alone, and my nephew grows up without his mother."  
  
Logan knew that what happened to Tinga still ate at Max. The few night she did sleep, she still woke up sometimes, sobbing for Tinga. And in a rare moment of weakness, Lydecker had actually told him about finding Max, cradling Tinga's body in her arms, crying in a way that Lydecker never thought his kids would. The great Colonel himself had needed a moment to compose himself, for the one time in his life when he might have regretted what he did to the X-5s.  
  
Jondy put her arm around Max's shoulders, giving Logan's family a protective glare. In those fierce blue eyes, Logan could see the aftermath of Manticore and how, to their dying day, Max and her siblings would protect and defend each other.  
  
"Quite the usual Cale Christmas," he cracked. And it was. His family put on a very nonchalant and uncaring appearance, but that was only because Aunt Margot refused to air dirty laundry in public.  
  
Bennett returned his half-hearted smile, probably remembering the last few Christmases with Logan's father. No doubt the family would never forget Logan Robert Cale, Sr, throwing an entire bottle of his best brandy at his younger brother's head. Family. If it didn't drive you mad or try to kill you…  
  
"Perhaps the ladies are hungry," Bennett suggested. "It looks like the buffet line has lightened up a bit. Would you care to join me, Max? Jondy?" If Logan knew anything, it was that the way to Max's heart was through her stomach, and that his dark angel would never refuse an offer of food.  
  
She stood gracefully, taking his cousin's arm as if she were born a society lady. Jondy followed, a scant second behind, with the same feline grace. Bennett made quite a sight framed by the two women--Jondy, with her slight, ethereal beauty, and Max, her darker, more seductive shadow. It was still hard, even now, for Logan to reconcile the fact that these two almost delicate women could easily take out the entire restaurant.  
  
As Bennett gallantly led them to the buffet table, Aunt Margot turned to Logan. "I'm surprised she hasn't left yet, Logan. I didn't expect her to stick around after the money ran out. Apparently, your spinal injuries must not be as bad as we thought." Her eyes narrowed. "Unless she's supporting you now, since I doubt that petty journalism of yours actually pays."  
  
Logan clenched the wheels of his wheelchair, thanking God that he didn't have Max's strength or Zack's temper. It was easy enough to imagine snapping his aunt's skinny neck.  
  
"I think that's a bit uncalled for, don't you, Aunt Margot?" Sometimes not rising to the bait worked with Max, when she worked herself up into one of her rages. But his aunt was the queen of cold, and knew the tricks. Logan was all too familiar with her tactics after years of living in her house.  
  
"Uncalled for? You, my nephew, are probably the only hope for a Cale heir. Bennett's wife is barren, and Robert and Jordan are fools. Uncalled for is you not fulfilling your family obligations by marrying the tramp you've shacked up with for the past five years." His aunt's voice had a chilly undercurrent to it, though her face still wore a mask of indifferent civility. "My son wastes his law degree on the dregs of society, and my husband was gunned down for who knows what reason, while my only nephew probably sold out his own family to that Eyes Only. Tell me that you weren't behind your uncle's death, Logan. You loved him about as much as he loved your father."  
  
For the second time, he was glad that Max was far away. Logan closed his eyes, knuckles white as they clenched the steel wheels of his chair.  
  
"How the mighty Cale have fallen!" his aunt's voice mocked. "Logan, Sr, dead at forty-five, a worthless drunk. Jonas, shot in the back by his own family. Logan, Jr, a cripple, and Bennett and his brothers, as worthless as their cousin." Margot's voice dropped. "A cripple, Logan. Don't try to hide behind your woman and your lifestyle. No matter what you do, you'll always be a cripple. And someday, that little Max of yours will realize that."  
  
He lunged across the table, reaching for her throat.  
  
"Logan!" He heard a plate drop, and then Max's arms were around him, holding him back against the chair.  
  
"Take that back, you bitch," he growled. He struggled against Max's grip. "You ruined my mother's life. Your husband turned my father against her, and that killed her." Hot tears burned in his eyes, but Logan didn't care. "And if you ever say a word against the woman I love again, I swear I'll kill you." Logan shrugged off Max's hands and leaned towards his aunt. "I had nothing to do with the death of Uncle Jonas. He brought that on himself."  
  
He pushed away from the table, wheeling his chair around. "Sorry, Max, I don't feel hungry anymore."  
  
As Logan rolled away, he saw Bennett and Jondy coming back from the buffet, plates in hand. Jondy took one look at him before handing her plate to Bennett. "It was nice meeting you. Apparently, we're leaving now."  
  
"Keep in mind what I said. If you ever need anything…" His cousin trailed off, looking between Logan and the commotion at the table behind them. "I'm sorry, Logan."  
  
He shrugged. "A typical Cale Christmas. The more things change…"  
  
Bennett smiled a little. "The more Mother stays the same."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The drive back was silent. Logan's hands clutched the wheel of the Aztek as he replayed the conversation in his mind.  
  
"Why do you put up with this shit?" Looking over at the passenger seat, Logan could see Max's arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face. "It's not like you need them."  
  
"Because they're my family," he said carefully, turning his eyes back to the road. They paused at the Sector Nine checkpoint, and Logan flashed his pass. "You put up with the same thing from Zack for years."  
  
He could hear Jondy make a sound of protest from the back seat.  
  
"Yeah, and Zack gave up his life for me," Max pointed out. "Your uncle tried to kill you."  
  
Zack was still a sore point, even after all these years. He was still a rival, even now, even though Max had never seen him as anything but a brother. "Zack didn't exactly look at you as a little sister, Max. You think he'd turn himself back into Manticore for anyone? He gave up his life for you--not just once, but twice."  
  
"Three times," Jondy said softly. "The escape."  
  
He could hear Max rattling the door. Before she could jump out, he locked the doors. Thank God for the foresight of child safety locks, even on the front passenger door…  
  
"Unlock the door, Logan." Max's voice was dangerously quiet. "Unlock the fucking door before I break it off the hinges."  
  
He pulled over, shutting off the engine. The eyes that met his were dark with fury. "You're not getting out of this car, Max. Not until we talk this out."  
  
"Not until we fight this out? I love you, Logan, but that won't keep me from getting medieval on your ass." Damn, she was beautiful when she was angry. "Why do you put up with their shit? Your family's done nothing but tramp all over you since your father died. There's no money left. There's no reason for you to keep holding on to something that's not there."  
  
"Like you did with your brothers and sisters, even after Zack wouldn't let you stay together?" It was a low blow, Logan knew, but there were times when he felt like being petty. And this was something that had to be said.  
  
"I was obeying orders." From the stubborn set of her jaw, Logan knew she was clenching her teeth. "The Colonel said that our duty was to our family, and my objective was to find them. They were all I had. Some of us weren't born rich white boys with superhero complexes." She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.  
  
It always came down to this. Manticore versus Sector 9. A penthouse on the east side against military barracks. Logan couldn't imagine her childhood anymore than she could comprehend his. But they tried. They both tried.  
  
"Idiots. You're both fucking idiots, you realize that, right?" Jondy broke in. "Dammit! I should let Original Cindy put a smackdown on both your asses. Don't you get it?" She reached over Logan's seat, fumbling for the locking mechanism. He heard a click as the door locks opened. "I can personally name eight people who'd give their lives for what you guys have. We all have issues. Get over it. Either love each other, or stop taking for granted how good you've really got it." And the door slammed shut as Jondy stumbled out of the car.  
  
There was silence.  
  
"Logan."  
  
  
  
"Max."  
  
Max chuckled, which was a good sign. It was even better when a small hand reached out for his. "I'm sorry," she said finally, still looking straight ahead. "I guess I--"  
  
"Yeah, me too." He squeezed her hand. "Family…" He reached over, unbuckling her seatbelt. With one swift movement equal to any X-5s, he shifted her slight weight into his lap. "You're my family, more than they ever were, and as much as I try to separate myself from them, part of me still needs their approval." He buried his face in her curls. "I'm sorry, Max."  
  
One arm reached up, her hand rubbing the back of his neck. Her eyes were downcast, a lost look on her face. Angels shouldn't look so lost. "Why haven't you asked me yet?" she asked in a small voice.  
  
"Asked you?" He tipped her face up, forcing her to look at him. Then he remembered what his Aunt Margot said, the only question he hadn't asked her yet. "Max, this is gonna sound bad, but…can this wait til we get back? I promise, I'll answer you then. There's just something I need to do."  
  
His heart broke as her face fell. Then, she composed herself and put on her blank Manticore face again. "Yeah." She slipped out of his lap and over the manual shift into the passenger seat. "I get it."  
  
With a sigh, Logan turned the Aztek back on, and moved out into traffic.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The apartment seemed empty when they got back. Logan rolled his wheelchair into the front room and locked the brakes. It felt good to stand again. It would have felt better to stand in the restaurant and walk out, but there were too many problems that would cause among the Cales--problems that weren't really worth five minutes of petty gratitude at the shocked looks on his family's faces. Max kicked off her heels and flounced over to the couch. Before she sat down though, she walked back over and picked up her shoes, lining them up neatly against the wall next to a pair of even smaller blue heels. Manticore. It was in everything she did, even the small things.  
  
Logan watched as Max walked over to her favorite chair by the window and curled herself up in it. The look she wore on her face was the same one he'd seen a thousand times when she was thinking about her family and her past. He'd seen it on Alec's too, whenever anyone mentioned the name Rachael. It was a resigned face, as if she knew what her doom was, and how little chance there was at escaping it. But even transgenic soldiers deserved the occasional happily ever after...didn't they?  
  
The door to the guestroom opened, and Jondy padded out on silent bare feet. She'd washed the makeup off her face, and her light brown hair was down again. It was long now, longer than he'd ever seen it over the past three years. It almost hung to her waist, making her look younger than she was-- even younger than Max. Without a word, she handed him a small wrapped box, a box he recognized as his Christmas present to Max.  
  
"I thought you might want this," she said. He could read nothing from her face, wearing the same blank mask that he saw on Max's face sometimes. Manticore, even in the small things.  
  
With his heart beating so hard that he could almost feel it in his throat, Logan turned and knelt in front of Max's chair. Though he couldn't feel the hard wood of the floor beneath his knees, its solidity gave him comfort. "Max," he said softly. "I want to explain why I never asked before."  
  
She looked at him, her brown eyes full of shadows and tears. The look in her eyes made him remember another night, when he'd held her dying body in his arms and watched her slip away from him--a long way to run, a long way back from where she'd been… How many men can say that they've seen their lovers die and were lucky enough to have them come back to life? In that moment, Max reminded him of a song his mother once sang, about a woman doomed to dance in the shadows--child of the shadows. "She dances in the shadows, like a shadow is her hair," he sang softly, twisting one of her curls around his fingers. "Her eyes hold midnight captive, like a phantom fell and fair…"  
  
"You're a poet and a songwriter." The edges of her full lips curled up.  
  
"I can't claim that poetry, Max. My mother used to sing it. She got it from a book of stories that she used to read me, about this kingdom called Valdemar…"  
  
"Were there princes in it?" In spite of herself, she looked interested, and for a moment, Logan could almost see the child she might have been, at Manticore.  
  
He smiled, trying to remember. "There weren't princes, but there were Heralds. The Heralds were heroes who rode white horses."  
  
There was the sound of a snort from the direction of the doorway. "Told Max that the horses would be white," he could hear Jondy mutter.  
  
He turned back to the woman in the chair and handed her the box. "I didn't ask before, Max, because I was going to do this right." He waited until she tore off the wrapping paper, holding the wooden box in her hands, almost as if she didn't know what to do with it. "Open it," he whispered.  
  
The sounds of Sibelius' Valse Triste filled the room. Max's eyes widened as a tiny dancer popped up, whirling in time to the music. She chuckled softly when she noticed that the dancer wore a long red strapless dress, and had dark curls.  
  
"You remembered." She smiled this time, a genuine smile.  
  
He reached out to rub the back of her neck, his thumb tracing the line of her cheek. "How could I ever forget?"  
  
She reached into the box, and pulled out a wadded up handkerchief. "Is this supposed to be a hint or something?" Max asked lightly, breaking the mood. "You coulda just told me to blow my nose. They did teach us how at Manticore."  
  
"Open it," he said again. Jondy must have put it in the music box, somehow figuring out his plan. Logan shifted his weight to one knee, silently thanking a former superhero named Phil for his gift of the exoskeleton. He swallowed, knowing there was no turning back. "When I asked you, I had it all planned out. I was going to have you open this, and I was going to tell you that marriage is an act of daring, requiring that we be brave enough to promise ourselves to someone else."  
  
Max's lips twitched. "Does it require that we entrust our most secret inner selves to them?" Her brown eyes were suspiciously bright.  
  
He chuckled. "Yeah, it does. But sometimes you're lucky enough to find that person. You cross paths by fate--"  
  
"But become partners by choice," Max finished softly. She looked down at the handkerchief in her hands. "Should I open it now?"  
  
He nodded, suddenly not sure if his voice would work.  
  
As Max unfolded the handkerchief, she stroked it. "Pure silk. I could fence this for 50, easy." Her voice sounded shaky. When the box fell into her lap, Logan noticed that her strong, slender hands seemed about as stable as her voice. With a quick look at him, she opened it. "If this is a Cracker Jack prize, I'm gonna kick your ass," she warned.  
  
"I didn't ask you, because I wanted to wait until you were ready, and it was perfect," he whispered. "When you died that night…when you tried to tell me, and I kept saying we'd have time later… I wanted the fairy tale moment that you never had, before I asked you if you'd embark with me on the greatest adventure two people can share." He took the ring out of the box, and held it up to her. "I wanted to be able to get down on one knee, and do things the right way."  
  
She took the ring, holding it up to the light. For a moment, he was afraid she was going to refuse. "Good clarity, a flawless stone…" Max said finally, a silly smile on her face. "This would definitely get me a new tranny for my baby."  
  
Logan heard another snort from behind him. "I'd even planned to promise never to hang my boxers on your motorcycle," he said, matching her grin. "She might even be able to stay in the apartment. In the guestroom."  
  
"Of course." Her eyes laughed. "So are you gonna ask, or are you just gonna tell me about it?"  
  
Shifting his weight slightly, Logan took the ring from her hand and slipped it on her finger. He could feel tears sliding down his face, but for once, he didn't give a shit about what his family would think. "Will you marry me, Max?"  
  
And with a little chuckle and a tear sliding down the end of her nose, his forever dark angel nodded yes.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Jondy watched, clinging to the doorway. Max and Logan weren't kissing. They didn't need to. They just sat there, foreheads pressed together, staring at each other. Tinga gave Charlie the same look. Tinga and Charlie had clung together the same way. Love. Daring to take the chance despite the cost. Daring to be normal, despite the risk of what shadows you brought with you to the table. Letting yourself grow comfortable and settle. Tinga always thought it was worth it, but that wasn't a price that Jondy wanted to pay. Not yet.  
  
They'd been running all their lives, but her baby sister seemed to have run further than most of them. And it wasn't like Logan didn't know what he was getting himself into. He'd already been host to four or five impromptu X-5 gatherings and war councils. Doubtless, he would see several more. And though he didn't have a barcode, Jondy still thought of him as a brother. He wasn't exactly a prince, but he was the kind of man that Maxie needed. He listened in ways Zack never did. But Logan had never shouldered half the burdens of their big brother. Logan had never seen the inside of Manticore.  
  
It might work out. Logan brought out the serious side of her baby sister, and Max helped The Former Rich Boy Known As Logan lighten up a little. They gave each other a cause and a reason to live. They were good for each other. And with love that strong…  
  
It would have never been that way with Zack. Even if Zack had loved her half as much as he'd loved Max, it could have never been--not for two X-5s. Their child was proof of that--the misshapen fetus that she'd miscarried at four months and buried somewhere near Angel's Camp in the Sierras. If there had never been a Manticore, and if Zack had been able to live a life for himself, and if there hadn't been twelve siblings that he had to watch over, it might have been different. There was no guarantee that Logan and Max would beat the odds, considering Charlie and Tinga, Zane and Samantha. Even with Krit and Syl knocking it right now… Manticore cursed whatever it touched.  
  
But Jondy wouldn't let her visions of doom cloud the picture before her. They could have their moment of happiness, and use that to strengthen them for the days to come. Maybe it would work out. Maybe there would come a day when they could stop running. They had a long way to run yet…  
  
And in the distance, she couldn't help hearing the cry of a crow--just a bird…it was just a bird…  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max sat back on the couch, admiring the way the ring sparkled on her finger. Even in her dingy-ass apartment, the diamond seemed to have a light of its own. She couldn't help taking it off her finger to read the inscription inside. Forever eyes. Dark. My angel. If she wasn't a romantic sap now, she was definitely in the running for candidacy.  
  
Something deep in the pit of her stomach told her to fling the ring into the darkest hole she could find, and blaze out of the city as fast as her Ninja would carry her. Soldiers didn't get attached to civvies. Soldiers didn't let their hearts get in the way of the objective. The solder that got attached allowed himself to be weak and open to attack.  
  
But sometimes soldiers got tired of fighting and running and hiding. And sometimes soldiers had to be vulnerable, if only to snatch at their one chance at happiness. She lost Logan once. Max didn't know if she could live through it again. She'd spent a long time running. Everyone had to stop sometime.  
  
She could hear Jondy snickering at her from across the room, where she sat painting her toenails, one foot propped up on the footrest of her bike. Original Cindy would be proud that one of Max's sisters enjoyed the finer things in life. Her Christmas gift for Original Cindy, some old Xena comic book Logan found, still sat wrapped up under their tree. Cindy named the poor dead thing Charlie Brown for some reason, and just stared at her when Max asked why. Maybe it was a lesbian thing.  
  
"It's not gonna get any bigger or brighter, Maxie, no matter how many times you look at it." Jondy scooted across the floor, one foot held out in front of her. "Though Logan does have good taste."  
  
"He tastes good too." Max bit her lip when she realized what she'd said. At least she didn't blush. Jondy, with her fairer skin that had always burned on long missions outside, turned bright red.  
  
"There are things I don't need to know, baby sister."  
  
"But did I do right?" Max slipped the ring back on her finger. It was conspicuous, even in the dimmer light of her small apartment. "It's like a giant beacon saying 'Here I am, Lydecker.'"  
  
Jondy wiggled her now scarlet toes with a sigh. "That's a decision you have to make for yourself, Max. You have to decide if you're ready, and if it's a risk worth taking." She shrugged. "I don't know if I could take it, but you also love Logan. And you could always think of it as one way of getting Manticore's bitch. You're strong enough to break training. Stronger than any of us." Propping her other foot up on the couch, she began painstakingly painting her other toes. "It's been way too long… Can't Logan have any cute single friends?"  
  
Max plopped down on the floor next to her sister. "Bling's single, I think. I dunno about Alec. He and Asha get it off and on so much that it's like one of those old soap operas or some shit. He's like almost family anyway." She laughed at the face Jondy made. The few times her sister met the other X-5, Jondy wasn't impressed. "Sketchy's single again, I think. But I wouldn't wish Sketchy on anyone…even Normal."  
  
"Bennett was kinda hot in that dork way," Jondy said, a thoughtful look on her face. "Too bad he's married. He's got brothers though, right?"  
  
"And they all take after Margot." She played with the locket, feeling restless. "Robert was in rehab for a while, and Jordan's in Vegas, screwing everything in sight."  
  
"Like Tawny."  
  
Max laughed. "Exactly like Tawny." Tawny was third oldest-second oldest, now-and he'd never really adapted to life outside of Manticore. He drank, he fucked, he looked at life like it was a party he had to barrel through at 180 mph. But like a good soldier, he covered his tracks, and no one had gotten hurt…yet. Funny how he seemed to take the same attitude towards life that Alec did. Max was just glad she only had to deal with one in her life at a time.  
  
Automatically, the two leaned towards each other. It was funny how instinctive it was, and how fast she fell back into Manticore habits with Jondy around. But you can't go back and forget the first nine years of your life, especially when they're burnt into your brain and genetic code. That was how Cindy found them, a while later, as she jingled in the door.  
  
"Hey, boo. Hey, sugar. Why the long faces? Santa Claus didn't bring you a new carburetor for your babies?" Cindy kicked off her shoes and threw her red hat onto her bed, bells ringing as it sailed through the air. "Ain't nothing wrong with your family?"  
  
Max shook her head. "I just get depressed at Christmas. All those years I missed out on turkey dinners and presents." She forced herself to smile.  
  
Original Cindy flopped down on the couch behind them, twining her fingers in Max's hair. "Logan's family that bad, boo? You need Original Cindy to put a smackdown on them?"  
  
"I'll help," Jondy volunteered. "Eva's elbow-pop could work wonders on Margot's anality." Looking down at her sister's face, Max could see Jondy's blue eyes shine with anticipation, the same way she used to look when they had E and E drills. "One little crack to the neck, and a jab with the elbow in the right place…" Jondy's small hands mimed the twist, making Original Cindy wince.  
  
"Aiight, Original Cindy see you got your own back covered." Max could feel Original Cindy's hair brushing her shoulders as her best friend leaned forward, peering at her hand. Her roommate was quiet for a few moments. " 'Zat what I think it is, boo?"  
  
Turning her head back, Max met Cindy's eyes. She could feel a smile creeping up on her face, and a ball of warmth filling her stomach. She opened her mouth to speak, but words wouldn't come. Maybe she had made the right decision.  
  
Cindy chuckled, falling to the floor beside them. She reached out to examine the ring. "Damn, Max. When your man does something, that boy does it fine 'n fly. All Original Cindy can say is it's 'bout time, boo." Cindy's arm settled around Max. "And if anyone don't deserve to be happy…"  
  
"And if he doesn't make you happy, little sister," Jondy added, her arm encircling Max from the other side, "we've got your back."  
  
"Does that mean you'll wear that tight little catsuit?" Cindy said, breaking the mood a bit. "Two souped-up bitches in black leather is every lesbian's dream, aiight?"  
  
"Three women on the floor together is probably every man's dream," Jondy retorted with a laugh.  
  
Max settled back against the couch, letting herself be surrounded by her sisters' love. This was family. This was what she'd searched for her whole life-total love and acceptance of what she was, and what she would always be. Shit would hit the fan to break her tranquility, but for this moment… These were the two women who loved her best and who'd seen her at her worst, and nothing would ever change that.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Logan wheeled himself down the hallway, carefully balancing a box of food on his lap. Bling followed behind, carrying the rest of the groceries. He was still amazed that Max had volunteered to make food for her New Year's Eve party. He was even more amazed that she'd decided to have one at all.  
  
Taking his cue from Max over the years, Logan didn't even bother to knock. He twisted the doorknob with one hand and propelled his wheelchair through. At least the elevator had been working, and Bling was spared the chore of hauling both Logan's useless body, the wheelchair, and the food up six flights of stairs. Logan wasn't quite sure how Max managed to hotwire it to work in a condemned building, but he didn't question too much. He just thanked God for small favors, even ones as meaningless as electricity not browning out.  
  
"Honey, I'm home!" he couldn't help calling out as he wheeled into the apartment. Jondy stuck her tongue out at him as she stirred something in a mixing bowl, flour on her nose.  
  
"Sorry, we don't want any," she said, waving the batter-covered spoon at him as Bling closed the door.  
  
"Speak for yourself." Max walked from the other side of the small kitchen, kissing Logan gently. "I want as much of it as I can get."  
  
Jondy snorted. "TMI, baby sister. Way too much."  
  
Original Cindy high-fived Jondy from the other end of the counter, where she stood stuffing a chicken. "Word, boo. Total word, aiight? Original Cindy's happy that you two finally got the wires uncrossed, but she don't need to get sick to her stomach, or she gonna put a smackdown on both your asses for all the romance dealio."  
  
From behind him, Logan could've sworn that he heard Bling snicker as he set the bags on the table. "I've got errands to run. You girls need anything while I'm out?"  
  
"A sweet and spicy homegirl with eyes like hot chocolate," Cindy automatically replied. "Wouldn't hurt if boo looks good in a catsuit too." She licked her lips, and then grinned. "If you find some paprika to rub on this chicken, Original Cindy would love you forever, boo."  
  
Bling nodded. "Spices it is. Logan? Max? Flowers for a centerpiece, noise-makers?"  
  
Logan noticed the blank look on both Max and Jondy's faces. "Noise-makers? You actually wanna draw attention to the party?" Jondy's voice sounded genuinely puzzled.  
  
"No noisemakers then." It surprised Logan sometimes, that he actually forgot that there was a Manticore. Max and Jondy seemed so normal in some ways, until he was blatantly reminded that their childhood hadn't exactly been conventional. "Logan?" As Logan shook his head, Bling grinned. "I'll take that as my cue. Later, girls."  
  
"Late!" three voices called out in response.  
  
Logan hauled himself onto a stool next to Jondy. "Anything I can help with, MacDuff?"  
  
She giggled at their inane little joke, brandishing the mixing spoon. "Watch out, or Max'll have a chocolate covered Logan if you aren't careful." Both she and Max wore their hair pulled up, barcodes clearly visible on their necks like black marks of Cain. "Maxie, toss me the sugar." Logan tried to ignore how close the spiraling Tupperware container came to hitting his head as Jondy caught it neatly in one hand. "Whatcha bring? Maybe you can find something to do in the bags."  
  
Max was already rummaging through the box on the table. "A nice full- bodied Zinfadel, pre-Pulse," she said with a grin, laying the wine bottle on the table. "Raid Bennett's wine cellar?"  
  
Normally, it would've been beneath his dignity to snort, but this was Max. "I think Aunt Margot got there first. This was a bottle Bennett promised me when we were in prep school, in honor of my engagement." Max didn't need to know how close he came to smashing the bottle after Daphne, and how Bennett had conveniently forgotten it existed by the time Valerie accepted his proposal.  
  
She pulled out one of the baguettes, her hand seeming to automatically fall into 'ready' position as she held it upright. "Hey, Jondy, catch!" This time, a loaf of bread nearly missed hitting his ear.  
  
Jondy caught the bread as easily as she'd caught the sugar, the loaf slipping through her fingers until she too gripped it like some edged weapon. Somehow, Logan doubted they'd played Knights of the Round Table as children. Even though it was bread, it somehow looked dangerous in Jondy's small hand.  
  
"You challenging me, baby sister?" Her lips curled up into a grin, eyes gleaming.  
  
"You two have serious competition issues, aiight?" Cindy remarked, still calmly stuffing her chicken. "Remind Original Cindy never to challenge her boos to foos-ball again."  
  
Mixing spoon long-forgotten, Logan picked up the bowl of cake batter and began stirring. Jondy and Max approached each other in the empty space between the couch and the two motorcycles. "I challenge you," Max said, saluting her sister with the bread. Normally unwieldy, in Max's hands, the loaf sliced through the air as if it was a delicate rapier.  
  
"Engarde!" Jondy struck out first, moving so fast that the air around the two seemed to blur. Both women moved with the grace of dancers and the skill of tai-chi masters. When Logan and his cousins had performed the same duels, they'd flung movie quotes about schwartzes and kung fu left and right. But with Jondy and Max, there was silence--all business, even in play.  
  
Logan watched, mesmerized. It almost reminded him of the duels in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. He'd been twelve when that movie came out, and had dragged his friends to see it eight times in the theater. Somehow, twelve-year old Logan Cale never thought he'd have his own personal ninja family at his beck and call.  
  
Stroke for sword stroke, they parried each other's hits. Bread crumbs littered the faded carpet from the impact of baguette on baguette. Finally, the two had to call it a draw, a loaf of bread held at each throat.  
  
Jondy laughed. "I'd forgotten how fast you are, baby sister. Being a super hero keeps you in shape."  
  
Max grinned, panting a little. "I think I'm slowing down in my old age though. That actually tired me out. And I didn't try to throw you or anything." She laid the battered baguette back on the counter and leaned up against Logan. Wrapping an arm around her as he continued to stir, he could feel the way her chest heaved slightly. "Think Big Brother would be proud?"  
  
Jondy's smile faltered for a moment, but it held as she took the mixing spoon from Logan's other hand. "He always was proud, Maxie." Logan could see her peering closer at Max. "You don't look too hot, baby sister. Go shower and lay down."  
  
"But I'm not--" Max began to protest.  
  
"Do it, soldier!" Jondy barked.  
  
"Yessir." With a reluctant look on her face, Max pushed away his arm, moving towards the bathroom. There did seem to be a lethargy about her. She'd been sleeping more lately--four or five hours a night, instead of her usual one or two.  
  
"She isn't…" Original Cindy trailed off, still wrist-deep in chicken. "Do you-"  
  
Logan looked back in forth between the two women, obviously having missed the classes deciphering the secret language of women while he was at Yale. He watched as Jondy shrugged, looked thoughtful, and then said. "Maybe."  
  
Then it was Original Cindy's turn to look thoughtful. "And he don't--"  
  
"Not for us," Jondy answered with a shrug, not looking up from her cake batter. "She doesn't."  
  
Cindy nodded and sighed. "Aiight, boo. You know."  
  
Jondy laughed softly, but the sound seemed harsh to Logan's ears. "Yeah. I know."  
  
"Makes me so glad I'm a lesbian," he thought he heard Cindy mutter.  
  
Logan Cale didn't think of himself as the usual obtuse male. On occasion he got a little side-tracked and tended to over-focus on something, like a mission for Eyes Only. Occasionally, he even obsessed, but he remembered anniversaries and always took care to make sure that Max knew how much he loved her. But this…he couldn't help feeling like he was missing something important, and he didn't know if it was because he wasn't genetically- enhanced, or because he lacked the extra X chromosome.  
  
Before he could ask, there was the unmistakable click of the front door lock being picked. Automatically, Jondy slid into ready position, placing herself in front of Logan. With one swift movement, she grabbed a knife from off the counter. Her free hand motioned for him to dive on cue. Cindy reached for a hockey stick sitting in the corner.  
  
Logan tried not to shout as he felt something brush up behind him. "Shhhh," Max's voice said in his ear, laying a still-wet hand on his neck. Looking back, he could see that she'd wrapped herself in her robe, securing it shut with what looked like hair clips. She and Jondy exchanged nods as the door began to swing open.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The brief stay under cold water had helped pound the fatigue out of her muscles. Max had been a lot more tired lately. It wasn't like she was doing anything out of the ordinary. Half the nights she spent sitting up with Jondy, talking and listening. And yeah, she and Logan were going at it like rabbits, but that wasn't unusual. Her stamina was still up for doing it three or four times in a row…  
  
She'd pulled her bathrobe around her when she heard the click of the tumblers and the sound of footsteps outside the door. There was a board that squeaked if you didn't step on it right. Jondy was already in 'ready' position when Max snuck out the door. She couldn't help feeling a little ridiculous. How many soldiers kicked ass dressed in faded blue bathrobes with little stars on them?  
  
Jondy motioned quickly, nodding towards Cindy. Max tried not to laugh when she noticed her roommate standing, her smackdown hockey stick gripped tightly in both hands. Even Logan tensed, perched on the edge of the stool and ready to dive behind the counter. But Max quickly placed herself in front of her roommate, knowing Jondy had Logan covered.  
  
The door opened slowly. From the sound of it, there were at least three people outside, maybe four. They walked lightly, so they were definitely trained well. But the first one didn't notice the slight dip in the doorway, and tripped into the room. As the first body fell through the doorway, Max launched herself, taking care to hit low and Jondy tackled high.  
  
"Max, it's me!" Rolling on top of the intruder on the floor, she realized that she knew the voice.  
  
"Krit?" Dark brown eyes met her own in a face that always startled her with its similarity to her own.  
  
He grinned. "Happy New Year, big sister. Jondy said something about you throwing a party?"  
  
She hugged him tight before she realized that she was still laying on top of him, and he was probably getting a great view down her bathrobe. Manticore never had any qualms about shoving soldiers together in mixed-sex showers, but that had been years ago, before puberty and the outside world intervened. She stood, pulling Krit's body up with her. He reached out, hugging her again. "Good to see you, baby brother."  
  
It wasn't until recently that they'd found out their actual ages. Max wasn't surprised that she was the youngest girl, but she'd never known Krit was even younger, if only by days. Lydecker himself had called her 'youngest.' Years of habit were hard to shake off.  
  
Looking behind her brother, she recognized the other three as they filed into her apartment. Syl followed Krit at arm's length, and Max couldn't help noticing how the two kept in constant physical touch with each other. Zane didn't say anything as he swept her up into a bear hug, swinging her around.  
  
"Millie?" His dog was noticeably absent.  
  
He shook his head, his long brown hair hiding his face for a moment. "Mille fought her last battle right after Christmas." Though he wore the carefully-schooled Manticore mask, Max could see the hurt in his gray eyes. "It's the way of the wheel. She's found her peace and gone to a better place."  
  
"All dogs go to heaven," the last figure quipped as he maneuvered between Krit and Zane. Tawny's amber-gold eyes didn't light up the way Zane's had, but he still gave her a hard hug. "Happy Holidays, baby sister."  
  
Things were still strained at best with Tawny. Max wasn't half the hard- ass that Zack had been about location and always keeping vigilant, but Tawny seemed to fight her in ways he'd never fought Zack. They'd never been tight, even back at Manticore. But he was her brother, and their shared experiences alone were enough to make her forgive him, time and time again. He hadn't been the same since Lydecker took Jack. He and Jack had been as inseparable as she and Jondy.  
  
"Keeping the squadron in line, huh, Maxie?" Tawny nodded towards Jondy, still holding the knife in one hand. Original Cindy hadn't relinquished her grip on the hockey stick yet either, even though she had one arm wrapped around Syl.  
  
"Damn, boo. Your sisters get hotter and hotter, and none of y'all swing for the right team," Cindy complained with a grin. "Then they get all attached too."  
  
Syl grinned back, letting go of Krit long enough to hug Cindy properly with both arms. "If the door ever swings that way, I'll give you a call," she said with a laugh. Max couldn't help studying the blond, noticing that Syl seemed to shine with some inner calm now. Maybe it was finally getting it together with Krit, after all their struggles of the past three years. Or maybe it was just that her sister was at peace with most things now.  
  
"Looking good, little sister." Jondy dropped the knife, joining Cindy and Syl in a three-way hug. Max watched as Jondy peered closer at Syl. "Syl, are you-"  
  
Syl shook her head, her face darkening slightly. "Of course not. You know we can't…" But there was a wistful look on her face.  
  
Something about the thought of Syl pregnant made Max's stomach churn. She couldn't tell if it was envy, or breakfast. Pregnant. She'd seen what happened when two X-5s tried to procreate, back at Manticore. And from things Jondy said… Case had turned out fine, and Max was growing up as normal-looking as Case, but she still couldn't help being afraid. If she ever got pregnant… She wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively. A little person that would be both hers and Logan's--a potential pawn in any hostile situation, but proof of their love and everything they fought for… Her hormones must be surging again. Usually she was good about suppressing any maternal longings.  
  
"Remind me to have a little talk with you, baby sister. There are some things you need to know…" And Jondy dragged Syl off into the corner.  
  
"Aren't you going to introduce us, Maxie?" Tawny spoke up, breaking Max's daze. Her big brother's voice was oddly gentle.  
  
"Tawny, this is Logan Cale and my roommate, Original Cindy. Original Cindy, Logan, my big brother Tawny."  
  
She saw Logan give Tawny a half-smile. "You'll pardon me for not standing up," he said, holding out his hand.  
  
Tawny's golden skin flushed slightly, as if he'd finally noticed the wheelchair sitting off to the side. He ran his free hand through his thick dark hair. "Understood. Good to finally meet you after hearing Krit rave from San Fran on up." Krit shot him a dirty look.  
  
"If you've driven that far, you're welcome back at my apartment to clean up and rest for a while," Logan said, making a show of easing himself back into the wheelchair. "I think the girls'll be occupied here for a while."  
  
To Max's surprise, Tawny actually laughed. "That'd be great. Maxie, if you don't mind sharing floor-space for a few days…"  
  
"Syl can bunk here with me and Jondy if you guys wanna crash at Logan's. He's got a guestroom," Max offered, resting one hand on Logan's shoulder. His hand automatically came up to intertwine with hers.  
  
"My room still available?" Krit asked with a grin. "We can bunk if you want, Tawn, since Zane snores like the bear he is."  
  
Tawny laughed, his almond-shaped eyes crinkling at the corners, while Zane tried not to look hurt. It was true. Zane did have a bit of a bear's look about him with the way his shaggy brown hair fell into his eyes all the time. He wasn't big or clumsy, he was just very…deliberate. He knew one exact way of doing something, and that was the way he did it, even if it took him 48 hours for him to figure it out. But it was always the best way. Zane's nimble fingers had always been the best at picking locks and hacking into any security system. Even now, he could fix anything with parts. Teamed up with Syl's talent for explosives and electronics, they'd made a bad-ass team back at Manticore.  
  
"Sharing a room with one, or twenty-four, it doesn't matter to me," Tawny answered in a flippant tone. "As long as I'm clean and dry, it's all good. Though a warm feminine body next to me doesn't hurt."  
  
"Not in this lifetime, Tawny," Jondy shouted from the corner. Max couldn't help laughing.  
  
"Need a lift?" Logan rummaged in his pocket for his keys absently. Max grabbed them off the counter, dangling them in front of his nose with a teasing grin.  
  
"Got my bike. It's good. Thanks for the offer." Tawny pulled a pair of blue-tinted goggles out of his pocket. "2001 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300, in bright crimson." Logan looked like he was trying not to laugh. Max knew he'd never understand the love between an X-5 and a bike. Her baby meant the world to her.  
  
"Name her?" Krit asked with a grin.  
  
"Priss." And to Max's surprise, Tawny actually blushed.  
  
"Is 'replicant' painted on the side?" Logan grinned too. "I can see why BGC could appeal to you."  
  
Tawny's eyes immediately brightened. "It has to be 2040 though, dude. None of this Mackie lusting after Sylia crap. I like the cleaner lines of the later series."  
  
  
  
"Nene's less annoying too, so that helps," Logan agreed. Max just exchanged a clueless look with Krit, though she was glad her brother at least found something in common with Logan.  
  
"Hey, Maxie, lemme see your hand," Zane said suddenly. She was wondering if one of her brothers would notice. Her hand looked small in Zane's large one as he held her left hand up to the light. "Is that-"  
  
She nodded. Zane's gray eyes had a wistful look in them as he leaned in, gently kissing her cheek. "Better luck to you, baby sister," he whispered. "I think you might get it right. Buddha will forgive you for kicking Manticore's ass."  
  
"Hey, Maxie, you going with?" Krit nodded towards the door, where Logan and Tawny were still deep in discussion about something having to do with bubble gum.  
  
She shook her head. "I'm gonna hang with my homegirls. Catch ya later, though. Take care of my boy."  
  
A brief smile flashed over her little brother's face as he kissed her, just as Zane had. "If you watch my girl." He nodded his head towards her hand. "That looks really nice there, Maxie. I like the way you wear that. It completes you."  
  
  
  
She twisted the ring around her finger, with what felt like a silly smile on her face. "Yeah. It does."  
  
"Syl, we're heading to Logan's to shower. See you in a few?" Krit called across the room. Syl waved back, still in a heated discussion with Jondy. Krit shrugged. "I guess we'll see you later."  
  
Logan seemed to realize he was halfway out the door before he wheeled back suddenly and turned towards her again. "We'll call in a few hours. I'll get the guys situated, and maybe we'll grab some more food, since the guest list just doubled." He gave her a playful grin. "You'll be okay?"  
  
  
  
Max nodded, leaning down to kiss him. "Don't let my brothers give you too much grief. And if you tell them anything" she stressed that word, "then I'll let Cindy put that smackdown on your ass."  
  
His hand caught at the back of her neck, fingers winding themselves in her hair. "If it's you doing the smackdown," he whispered, kissing his way up her throat, "I'll tell them anything you don't want me to."  
  
She could feel the heat beginning to rise in her stomach. "And if you don't leave now, I'm gonna drag you into the bathroom and take another cold shower." She leered back at him. "Maybe later…"  
  
"Mmm, later." Another kiss. "I'll hold you to later." And then with another grin, he turned back to the door.  
  
The door shut on the four men, deep in conversation again. At least they were getting along. Tawny wasn't up to his usual fits and sulks yet, and Zane actually seemed social for once. Usually, her biggest brother only talked when he was in a philosophical mood. He wasn't the same joker he'd been before Samantha. But love changed all of them. Even Syl, once the most cynical of all, seemed more light-hearted than usual. She smiled with her eyes and her mouth now.  
  
With a yawn, she made her way back to her sisters. Max settled on the couch, suddenly feeling like she'd been hit by ten tons of bricks. Damn, she was getting out of shape. She'd been eating more too--more than usual. But it was winter, and her body always seemed sluggish in winter. Maybe they all had a little bear DNA in them.  
  
"You okay, boo?" The cushions on the couch dipped as Original Cindy sat next to her. Max's body automatically shifted so that she rested against her best friend's shoulder.  
  
"Just tired. I guess all this holiday planning shit's wearing me out. Maybe it's cause I'm actually thinking with parts of my brain that never worked before. All that unused Martha Stewart DNA." She quirked a grin at Cindy, trying to make the worried look on her friend's face disappear.  
  
Cindy's hand pushed Max's still wet hair back from her face. "You like a box of chocolates, girl. I never know what's goin' on inside you. Nuts, chews, you got it all."  
  
"No partridge in a pear tree though. I don't think Manticore used any avian DNA." Max watched Jondy and Syl, not surprised that Jondy was waving her arms about now, like she did when she got overexcited. Zack had called her a firecracker, always ready to explode. Jondy looked more helpless than she was, so even Lydecker had tended to underestimate her.  
  
"Your family takes things seriously, don't they, Boo?" Original Cindy waved her hand at Syl, who had Jondy pinned up against the wall.  
  
"They're family," Max answered simply. That was all there was to it, all that needed to be said.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Nice digs," Tawny said, looking around with an appreciative grin. "Who'd you kill?"  
  
"My uncle," Logan answered dryly, hanging his jacket on the lowest hook on the wall. "Bathroom's down the hall on the left. There's some shirts in the armoire if you need to borrow one." He turned his chair towards Krit and Zane. "If you guys don't mind waiting, there's a shower in my bathroom too."  
  
Tawny nodded to his brothers. "You guys can go first. I'll chill with Logan." Logan noticed the almost wary look on Tawny's face, and wondered what he was in for. Zane seemed to tense for a moment, but Krit gave him a long look before the other man nodded.  
  
"I'll take Logan's shower," Krit said, pulling Zane with him down the hallway. "Logan, if you only have Max's flowery shit shampoo in your shower again, I'm gonna kick your ass..."  
  
Logan wheeled himself into the kitchen, pulling a bottle of beer out of the fridge. "Want one? It's Killian's." He pulled out a second, waving it at Tawny. The younger man stalked over, for all the world reminding him of another proud and snide X-5.  
  
Tawny unscrewed the cap with his bare hand, making Logan wince. The X-5 took a sip, nodding slightly. "Not bad. I prefer the lighter brews. Too much head fills me up." A red flush spread over Tawny's sharply-planed face. "Too much yeast," he corrected with a little bit of a chuckle.  
  
With another easy swing, Logan pulled himself up onto the counter. "Freudian slip. It happens," he said nonchalantly, sipping at the beer. "So, what's up?"  
  
Though Tawny looked casual as he leaned against the wall, Logan's practiced eye still caught how tense the other man's body was. X-5s seemed to have a hair-trigger programmed into their genetic code. He'd seen Syl go off at the drop of a hat, and she was one of the slower of the siblings. Zane moved with the careful deliberation that came with his tall height. Tawny reminded Logan of one of the big cats--ready to strike at any moment, just biding his time.  
  
"Why Max?" Obviously, Tawny was a graduate of the Zack School of Subtlety too. "She's not normal. Technically, only 75% of her DNA is human."  
  
It was a familiar argument. Lydecker had tried the same approach. Maybe it ran in the family. Logan took another long sip of beer, letting the slightly bitter aftertaste roll around on his tongue for a while. "Doesn't matter. She's Max."  
  
Tawny nodded slightly. "She'll have to leave you. You already lost your legs. What if you lose your life?"  
  
That was still a sore point, even now. He knew Max still looked at him and felt guilty. But if he hadn't lost use of his legs, would she have ever come back? As much as he hated to say it, getting shot in the back brought them together. Their love grew out of a mutual need. And because of that, it was worth it. "I lost her once," Logan finally answered, remembering the dead weight of Max's body in his arms, her dark eyes lifeless. "Every day since then has been bonus time. And that'll always be worth any price." Just as his almost brother-in-law had said, three years ago... "Even after everything that's happened, I wouldn't give a minute of that time." He met Tawny's eyes, noticing that they even had the yellow-brown color of one of the big cats. " Not a second."  
  
"And the ring you put on her finger? Is that for real?"  
  
Though Max tried to play off how much it meant, Logan still caught her looking at it with a silly smile sometimes. He was still shocked that she'd said yes, as if something between them had a chance. He knew, deep down, that they were on borrowed time. And just the fact that she wore the ring was almost enough. Almost. He didn't let himself think about what it would be like to have her as his wife, what children they'd create together. The future was still a fantasy, but for now... "It's more real than anything I've ever done, and whether or not it works out, I'll always mean it."  
  
Tawny looked at him for a long time, measuring Logan up with his unblinking gaze. It wasn't hard to see where he got his name: golden skin, golden eyes, even dark hair that was bleached to blond at the tips. Somehow, the inscrutable look sat better on Tawny's Asian features than it did on most of Max's other siblings. But Tawny wasn't Zack. And Tawny hadn't routinely insulted Logan's manhood and threatened to kick his ass.  
  
"So why the third degree? I'm touched that Max means that much to you..." Tawny's scrutiny was beginning to unnerve Logan. "Besides, I think if I ever did hurt Max, she'd be the first in line to kick my ass."  
  
The X-5 actually allowed himself to chuckle for a moment. "Maxie's never been my favorite sister," Tawny admitted with a slight shrug. "Zack could've picked someone a lot more worthy to die for. Everything was always for Max, even when we were kids. But she's my family. And the Colonel made her Zack's Second before we could even read. Family takes care of its own." He gave a long, shuddering sigh. "So while I don't get kicks out of this whole family togetherness shit, and while I hate the fact that there are six of us together in one town where Manticore and every other world military organization knew X-5s like to hang, it's for the folk who got me out of Manticore. And for them..."  
  
"You're lucky." Tawny gave Logan a startled look. Logan just grinned slightly, loving any chance he had to shock one of Max's brothers or sisters. "Your family's been through hell and back, but you've always been there for each other. I can't say that about my relatives." He snorted. "Half of them refuse to acknowledge that we belong to the same gene pool."  
  
"Sometimes I doubt the Manticore genepool spread too far," Krit's voice called out from halfway down the hallway, where he and Zane both stood in jeans and towel-turbans. "Budget cutbacks and all." In the past three years, Max's overly serious little brother had definitely lightened up. Logan still hoped that Krit's new-found sense of humor wasn't warped by months of hanging with Bling.  
  
"Honey, we're home!" a voice called from the balcony as the sliding glass door slid open. Jondy grinned, coiling her trusty black rope around her waist. "What?" she said, an innocent look on her face. "We got a little bored."  
  
A wolf-whistle echoed from behind Jondy. "Sexy men everywhere. Have I died and gone to the Good Place?" Syl teased, slipping in from behind Jondy.  
  
  
  
Jondy shook her head. "Sorry, little sister, but I still think of three of these men as my brothers, and there are some places even I can't go." She blew a kiss to Tawny, a mocking look on her face. "No offense, big brother."  
  
To Logan's surprise, Tawny laughed. "None taken, little sister."  
  
"Max didn't come with you?" Logan tried not to look anxious.  
  
An odd look washed over Jondy's face, but it was almost gone before Logan could read it. "She's asleep. Cindy's watching over her. She's got Maxie's back."  
  
"Maxie sleeping?" Zane looked worried as he toweled off his long hair. "I know you two used to crash hard about every one night in ten when we were in the barracks, but..."  
  
Jondy shrugged, tugging on her ear slightly. She made a movement with her hand that was too quick for Logan to catch. Damn the X-5s and their secrets. They were more open with him now then they first were after Max's disappearance, but there were still times when they blatantly reminded Logan that he wasn't one of them, no matter how much he loved their baby sister. But apparently Zane realized what Jondy meant, because he nodded.  
  
"Whatcha got grub-wise, huh, Miracle Boy?" Jondy opened the fridge as if she owned it. "If you guys are hungry, Mr. Cale's a master chef."  
  
"Omelets," Syl spoke up, now tucked under one of Krit's arms. Briefly, Logan wondered if he and Max looked like that, clinging so close together, as if they were almost afraid to be apart. "I've been craving a ham and cheese omelet since Portland."  
  
If one thing stayed constant, it was an X-5's appetite. And for that one bit of normalcy, especially where Max's family was concerned, Logan would always be grateful.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
December 31, 2023  
  
"All set for tonight, Max?" Sketchy thumped down next to Max as she laced her shoes tighter. "Natalie's sending some food. She feels guilty for bailing at the last minute, but the restaurant wouldn't let her out of the shift."  
  
"So you're back together again?" Max grinned, noting the dopey look on Sketchy's face. "'S all good. Some of my family's in town, so more food's always welcomed."  
  
"Her family's eatin' us outta house and home," Original Cindy muttered, shoving her backpack into her locker and slamming it shut. "Sugar, if Original Cindy didn't sleep like the dead, you and your sisters would keep me up all night." Max tried to keep her face from falling, but Cindy must've noticed some change. "Not that I don't mind, Boo. I'm just glad it ain't your brother-men too. At least your sisters is hot, aiight?" Her best friend gave her a comforting grin. "Speakin' of sisters..."  
  
Max saw Jondy making her way across the crowded floor, neatly dodging the bikes as they sped off on runs. "If you invite Normal to the party, do you think he'd let me work for a few weeks, Maxie?" Jondy rolled her blue eyes expressively, blowing her long brown hair out of her eyes. "I'm bored." Only her dancing eyes took away from her impression of an airhead. Jondy had always been good at impersonations and confusing the enemy.  
  
"I don't believe we've met," Sketchy spoke up, exuding his usual misguided attempt at charm and grace. "Calvin, at your service."  
  
"This is Sketchy. Sketchy, my sister..."  
  
"Jenny." Jondy snorted as Sketchy actually kissed her hand. It looked like someone had been watching too much Camelot again. "So, whatcha think, Max? Who do I talk to about getting a gig?"  
  
"You must really be bored, Boo, if you willin' to work for this hella- hella." Original Cindy pointed to Normal's cage in the corner. "Talk to the Bleater-Man in there. And if he bip bip bips at you, just tell him you'll put a smackdown on his little ass."  
  
Max looked down at her sneakers, concentrating on filtering out the excess noise as Jondy walked up to Normal.  
  
"Are you Reagan Ronald, sir?" Max almost winced at the sweetness that Jondy poured into her voice. But she'd learned from the best. Zack could've charmed anyone when he wanted to--when he felt like putting up the effort.  
  
Looking up, she could see Normal giving Jondy a suspicious look. "It's the name they christened me. And if you know a guy named Sam, and you're asking for a job, the answer's no, missy."  
  
Jondy actually managed to look confused. "The only Sam I know is my brother's old fiancé, sir, and last I heard, she was back in Los Angeles. My dad worked for The Living Express-y'know, the Pony Express re-enactment troupe-after he retired from the Post Office, and since I'm in town visiting my brother for a few weeks, I thought I might check here for work."  
  
"Your sister's got moves, Max," Sketchy said, awe in his voice. Even in the crowded room, Jondy's light voice carried over the usual rush of noise. She'd always been good at yelling and making herself heard.  
  
Max noticed Normal pointing at her, so she pretended to rummage through her bag, looking for something.  
  
"That girl there--if you're friends with her, there's no way you're getting a job here. No way, no how. She corrupted my golden boy before he even completed his first run. Even managed to convince him to change his firetrucking name to Zack." Max could hear Normal thump a package against his desk. "There's only one reason why I don't fire that ingrate…"  
  
"I just thought I'd ask for work, sir." Max could almost hear the tears in her sister's voice-either of forced sorrow, or explosive laughter. Which, she couldn't tell. "My father's best friend Theo used to work here, and--"  
  
"Theo, huh?" Peeking up, Max noticed Normal's face blanch slightly, as if he still felt guilty about Theo's death, even after all these years. "I guess we can fit you in on a few runs-just for January though. And if you screw up once, I'll make sure you never work in the delivery industry again."  
  
Jondy's face contorted for a moment before she calmed herself enough to squeak a thank you. Max found the urge to dig for something in her bag again, hiding her shuddering shoulders deep in her locker. Her sister would've made Zack proud. Her sister would've even made the Colonel proud…  
  
"Max! Get your lazy butt over here!" With a sigh, she walked over to Normal, flashing a quick "good move" to Jondy.  
  
"Yes, oh mighty one?" She gave him her usual half-bored, half-condescending look.  
  
"This is--" Normal looked at Jondy quickly. He studied the ID she'd handed him. "This is Jenny Perez. Can you take her around and try not to screw her up?" There was an almost painful look on his face as he continued. "I'll pay you extra for the days you train her."  
  
Max pretended to consider it, enjoying watching Normal squirm. "Fifty bucks a day."  
  
Normal's face paled. "Five."  
  
"Twenty. A girl needs to be able to eat, Normal. And you can't eat if you're dead." She gave him a pointed look. "I still have your friend the art collector's number. I think he's due outta jail in a few days…"  
  
  
  
"Twenty bucks! Deal." Normal shoved an application and temporary Jam Pony ID into Jondy's hands. "You can take a locker over there. We're not responsible if anyone steals your stuff. Grab a bike from the rack. You break it, you buy it. And I'm making Max personally responsible for you, so if you firetruck up, she'll kick your butt." He swallowed, looking as if he were trying to forget something. "Believe me."  
  
Max smiled sweetly as she held out a hand to her sister. "Max Guevara. Those are my peeps, Sketchy and Original Cindy."  
  
Jondy grinned. "Jenny Perez. You worked with Uncle Theo, didn't you? He kept talking about this Max person that-" As soon as they were out of earshot from Normal, Jondy's carefully-schooled mask cracked. "He can't be serious, Maxie," she wheezed between fits of laughter. "He can't be. Any guy that tense should've had a coronary ten years ago."  
  
Max threw one of her spare vests at her sister. "He's not so bad, once you learn to ignore him." Jamming her baseball cap over her eyes, she grabbed her bike from where it leaned against her locker. "C'mon, Jenny, I'll show you where the extra bikes are kept."  
  
Sketchy followed behind them like a puppy. "How do you make shit up like that? And can you teach me?" There was a look of awe on his face. "Hey, does that mean that you kick ass like Max too? Cause there are these guys that I know who-"  
  
Max turned back to Sketchy, resisting the urge to pull his black beanie over his chin to shut him up. "Hey, Sketchy, remember the last time, with those Russian dudes?"  
  
He nodded, swallowing.  
  
"That's what happens to guys who can't keep their mouths shut. Aiight?"  
  
Sketchy nodded again. "So, ummm, I'll see you tonight at like 8?"  
  
Jondy laughed again as he hightailed it back to his locker. "Whipped, Max. That boy is so whipped. No wonder I can't find myself a man. None of 'em fight back."  
  
Original Cindy grinned, rolling a bike towards Jondy. "That's when you start playin' for the all-girl team, boo. And when you do, look me up, aiight?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was almost five when they got home after work. Max was surprised that Jondy'd actually enjoyed the day, riding around the city. Normal was impressed that the runs had gotten done at all, much less finished in less time than Max normally took. Not that she slacked off at work or anything, but it seemed more fun with her sister there. It was almost like they'd never missed out on those ten years that Manticore took away, as if they had escaped together that night…  
  
"Normal invited you back, sugar. That's enough to impress Original Cindy," Cindy said as the three rolled their bikes down the hallway. "And Matt already asked for your number. Last time someone got that much attention was when we got Mr. Pretty Boy Alec. Don't ask Original Cindy about all the fights he caused."  
  
Jondy snorted, pulling out a pocketful of papers. "And Jimmy, and Ty, and Jared. And that little blond, Beth…"  
  
"She swings that way? Original Cindy gotta have a long talk with that girl." With a practiced kick right below the doorknob, Original Cindy pushed the door open. "Hey, boo, we got company," she called from the apartment.  
  
Max was the last one to roll her bike through, so she was surprised when she saw the five men in her small kitchen, busy at work. Syl was lying on the couch, reading a book. Her brothers must've been bored during the day, because the apartment was cleaner than she'd ever seen it. Even the two motorcycles in the corner sparkled, as if someone had polished her and Jondy's babies.  
  
Logan stood with his back to them, frantically stirring something over the burners on the stove. Max's stomach growled as she smelled all the different foods crowded into one small area. She could hear Jondy's stomach rumbling in response, and laughed. With her enhanced sense of smell, she could almost pick out every ingredient of the marinade that Logan was dipping the meat into. And people wondered why eating was an extremely sensual act for an X-5…  
  
She leaned her bike against Jondy and Original Cindy's and snuck up behind Logan. "Smells good," she whispered, nibbling on his neck. "Tastes good too." She could feel the heat of his blood warming his skin as he turned his face to kiss her.  
  
"Uncle Jonas' special recipe." Logan's voice was husky, his glasses slightly fogged as he turned back to the meat he was grilling on the portable grill he'd brought. "If I tell you what's in it, I'll have to kill you." The edges of his mouth twitched, even though his voice was deadpan.  
  
"How bout later?" Max asked, running one hand down his spine. Grabbing his ass had a less than satisfactory response, since he couldn't feel it, so she settled for tracing patterns against his back to make him squirm.  
  
Logan wriggled away slightly from her touch, his face grimacing. She loved the fact that he was still ticklish in some spots. The fact that he could feel nothing below the waist still caused problems on occasion, but they got creative. And creativity was all good… "Later would work for me. Lemme check my calendar," he said with that sexy little grin of his. He leaned closer, kissing her again. "Maybe tonight, we can head back to my place, and-"  
  
"Do you two have to do that here?" Original Cindy's voice broke the mood. "That's what those things called bedrooms is for, aiight? Just cuz some of you getting' some don't mean we all need to know about it."  
  
Max and Logan broke away. She could feel her face heating up, even though there was really nothing to be embarrassed about. Her family knew what it was like to have that constant animal hunger for sex. For weeks after her heat, she still felt the traces of it sometimes. And from the way her brothers always seemed to act around her during that time of the year, she knew it affected them almost as headily as it affected her.  
  
"Hey, Cindy, if you're free later, we can always go scouting for chicks. There were some hotties at that bar you took us to last night." Tawny grinned as he cut up little wedges of cheese and lunch meat. Even though the Cale Trust was long sucked dry, it looked like Eyes Only still had a few connections. Either that, or Tawny'd been sleeping for food again. Alec did that sometimes, when he wasn't charming people out of shit. But you did what you had to do to eat. Trade, barter, sex…  
  
Original Cindy opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of what looked like orange juice. "If this is fresh-squeezed, I'm gonna make my mama proud and kiss one of you boys." Max watched her roommate open the bottle and take a careful sip. A look of rapture washed over Cindy's face. "Damn, boo, if I weren't a lesbian…"  
  
Jondy moved to the cabinet, taking out every glass in there. "Share the wealth, my sister. I think I'm getting scurvy from all the lack of C. You people need some sunshine here."  
  
Max took the glass that she was handed, trying to ignore the look that passed between her sister and her roommate. Logan just looked puzzled, so at least she knew he wasn't in on whatever head trip Cindy and Jondy were surfing. Whatever. Orange juice. She could remember the first time she'd seen orange juice, and how startled she'd been that beverages came in colors other than white milk, clear water, and black coffee. If she could taste sunshine, she was sure it would be just like orange juice. If freedom hadn't been enough, orange juice would have won her over from Manticore forever.  
  
"So the cheese is cut," Logan paused, letting her brothers finish snickering, "the meat's almost done, and Bling made the salads earlier, since apparently none of us are artistic enough. There's more beer and wine at my place in the cooler, and the girls won't tell us where the cookies are stashed, so we're set, right?"  
  
"Sketchy said Natalie was sending food, and I think Herbal's woman's bringing some grub too," Max offered, settling back against Logan's chest again. "Joshua made macaroni and cheese." Joshua had a little more freedom now. Max knew that keeping him cooped up in Father's house wasn't much better than the caged life he'd lived at Manticore. He was careful on the few occasions he went out, and always made sure to wear his hood. This New Years, Big Fella actually had a date with Rita, the curator at the museum. It was a slow friendship that had grown up between the two. Max was happy for her friend. He deserved something good in his life. And his art career was really starting to build.  
  
"Now we just gotta clean you girls up." Cindy stood, her arms crossed over her chest. "I hate to say it, boo, but your family does not know how to dress. 'Cept maybe for this one here." She and Tawny grinned at each other. "Wheels' got his own sense of white boy style, but you…" Cindy began shoving the guys towards the door. "You go and get pretty while I work on Sleeping Beauties here. No sistah-girl of mine's entertaining lookin' like that."  
  
Max looked down at her Capri pants and quilted vest. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed? I can shower. And my undies are clean. It's all good."  
  
Original Cindy choked. "That, girlfriend, is why it's not all good."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Is this what it's like to have sisters?" Syl sat on the floor in front of Jondy, letting her sister play with her long hair. Jondy's quick fingers wove ribbons in and out of the blond hair.  
  
"You have sisters," Jondy said, chewing on her lip. "Light blue or dark blue, Syl?"  
  
Her little sister tilted the hand mirror up, trying to see the wreath that Jondy'd woven in to her braid. "Light blue. You already used dark blue." Syl's dark eyes met Jondy's in the mirror. "I didn't mean it like that, Jondy. I meant it like normal sisters. The way people grew up Outside."  
  
Even more than ten years later, it was still Outside. Almost fourteen years since the escape, and they still thought of themselves as set apart from everyone else. It was just one more reminder that they'd never be normal.  
  
"I have two sisters, sugar." Cindy looked up from where she sat on Max's motorcycle, painting her toenails. Max was in the shower, otherwise Jondy was sure that her baby sister would be throwing a fit right now. "It ain't all it cracked up to be, aiight? Big sister bossin' Original Cindy around, baby sister whinin' about how Mama don't love her, Daddy always complainin' why can't you be like Keisha and Rainie…" She rolled her eyes. "Trust the word, boo. You ain't missin' a thing."  
  
Jondy finished off her sister's braid, surprised at how good it looked. Usually, it didn't look right. She didn't know if it was because she was still backwards, even after being years out of Manticore, or if there was just something defective in her genes. "We missed out on childhood though. That might've been a nice thing to go through…"  
  
She looked down for a moment, staring at her hands as they still clutched a handful of brightly colored ribbons. She tried to imagine what it would've been like, growing up with a mother and father and Max and Syl and the rest, all crowded into one house. No one had braided anyone else's hair at Manticore. She hadn't known what a ribbon was until the escape. Even underwear had mystified her at first, since boys and girls alike had worn the same military regulation shorts.  
  
Cindy didn't say anything for a while. "You turned out aiight, sugar. Yeah, you revved-up females sometimes call in black helicopter boys, and seems like someone always doggin' your tail, but you aiight. You're tight with your sisters, and you ain't some whack killing machine. And my boo love you almost more'n that Miracle Boy of hers. And if y'all willin' to trust your life with Original Cindy, you aiight with her too." She stood, walking carefully towards Jondy. Jondy could feel one of Original Cindy's hands running through her hair. "If you put a little glitter in here, and wear that little blue shirt Max has stashed in her closet with those leather pants, you'd pass for more than hot, sugar."  
  
Maybe she lacked a little growing up. But that was the past, and there was no use changing that. She had sisters now, sisters who would always be there, no matter how far she had to run.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
8 PM. There was a knock at the door. Max knew this was nothing compared to live ordnance drills, but her stomach was still in a fit of panic. Jondy had that deer in the headlights look on her face again, one Max hadn't seen since the escape. It was friends at the door, just friends who-  
  
"Max? You in there?" Kendra's voice echoed form the other side of the door. "If I come in and people are naked, I'm gonna be really mad…"  
  
"Open it, Maxie." Jondy shoved her towards the door. "It's just a party. It's not like we're on an E and E mission or anything."  
  
Max looked to Logan helplessly. He shrugged from where he stood, rearranging the skewered meat on its tray. "It's your party, Max. You have to answer the door. We can't do it for you."  
  
It was just a door. She wasn't scared of some dumbass door. These were her friends…  
  
"Happy New Years, Max!" She found herself in the middle of Kendra's arms. Looking over her shoulder, she could see Kendra's latest squeeze of the month, Eric. Her old roommate had worn out Mr. Multiples after about a year and a half. Apparently even great sex didn't last. At least this new one was nothing like the last Eric, the one she'd picked up at Crash in heat…  
  
"Happy New Year, Kendra." There was a hat perched on her former roommate's head. Max still wasn't sure what dopey hats had to do with New Years, but maybe she'd figure it out eventually. It was probably like the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree thing, or all the Star Wars references that Logan liked to make. Something about a force being with them…  
  
"Max, you remember Eric. Eric, my old roommate, Max." Eric was pretty hot- dark brown eyes, long black hair. He kind of had the old Goth thing going, even though Goth had apparently been out of date for years-whatever it had been.  
  
Eric grinned, and Max could see why Kendra liked this one so much. "Thanks for inviting us."  
  
As they walked in, Logan walked over, slipping an arm around her waist. "See, that wasn't hard," he teased, kissing her by her ear.  
  
Eventually, others arrived. Sketchy showed up with the promised food in hand, and he actually managed not to drop any of it. A few others from work showed up, and Ty and Brian kept hovering around Jondy like she was the next best thing to God. Even Herbal came, showing off his woman, Harmony, and their two year old daughter, Dylan. Dylan spent most of the evening asleep on Syl's shoulder, and Max caught an oddly wistful look on both her sisters' faces.  
  
"Grub's great, Max." Sketchy held up a chicken wing from where he stood deep in conversation with Tawny. Krit swore the sauce was from some place called Buffalo that had supposedly invented the chicken wing. He'd presented the bottle to her like it was gold, reverently invoking the name of the Anchor Bar. Logan knew it, so it had to exist, even if Max did doubt its godlike qualities…  
  
"See, it's not so bad, is it?" Logan said from behind her. "Throwing a party doesn't have to be like Bennett and Marianne's wedding. These are people who love you. They just came to be with you, not to be impressed."  
  
Max leaned up against him, looking around at the twenty people crowded into her tiny apartment. Cindy'd even found someone, a friend of Kendra's named Star. The two spent most of the night sitting close on the couch, never taking their eyes off each other.  
  
"I'm just not used to all these people being together--people who aren't my family. People who love me."  
  
Logan's arms came around her, and she could feel his chin resting on her shoulder. "There are a lot more people that love you than you think, Max. And your family's a lot bigger. You aren't some barcode to us. You're our Max, and because of that, we all love you." His breath tickled the back of her neck. "Especially me."  
  
Jondy and Krit slowly made their way across the crowded room. "You have a lot of nice friends, Maxie." Her sister smiled wistfully. "I can kinda see why you never wanted to leave before."  
  
Krit gave Jondy a quick hug. "It'll be over someday, Jondy. We'll be able to stop running. We might not get that happily ever after that you and Maxie and Tinga always talked about, but we'll get something out of all this shit."  
  
But in her sister's eyes, Max could see clouds of doubt. For Jondy, there was no happily ever after. To Jondy's knowledge, her prince died years before, and with him, all chances for a normal life. But Jondy never seemed to regret. She only hoped she could be that strong, if she had to leave someday. Max twisted the ring around her finger again. When she had to leave…  
  
"Max, I'm gonna cut out. It's almost midnight, and Natalie wanted me to stop by the restaurant." Sketchy had his usual dopey grin on his face. "This time, I'm gonna do right by her and try to make it work. I promise. You can kick my ass if I don't."  
  
Max couldn't help chuckling. "You know I will, Sketch. One false move, and I'll have your ass. Got it?"  
  
He nodded seriously. "And I meant to say…" He nodded towards her hand. "I didn't notice it at work today, cause you had your gloves on, but I wish you both happiness. And if you don't invite me to the wedding, I'll be seriously hurt." Sketchy grinned. Then, to Max's surprise, he leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Best of luck, Max."  
  
Hesitating for a moment, Max reached out and hugged him hard. "You too, Sketch." She tugged the collar of his shirt briefly, reminding him of exactly well she could kick his ass. "Just remember…"  
  
Sketchy flashed a grin at her. "I don't think Natalie'll let me forget this time. Late."  
  
"It is time for I and I to go as well," Herbal's slow drawl broke in. Dylan was asleep on his shoulder, one small hand in her mouth. "My baby sleeps, so we must get her home before we can't get her to sleep again."  
  
Max reached out, carefully hugging one of her oldest friends. "Happy New Year, Herbal. Your family's beautiful."  
  
Herbal's hand reached out, cupping her cheek. There was a soft smile on his face as he reached out with his other to Harmony. "Congratulations, Max. Ja says that yours will be as well." He nodded to Logan. "You are a lucky man, my brother."  
  
"I know," Logan answered. "Believe me, I know."  
  
As if on cue, the others began to trickle out, claiming engagements elsewhere. Max wasn't sure if this was the way it was supposed to go, but she was cool with it. As much as she loved her friends, the apartment was beginning to seem a little crowded. And Cindy was starting to get that look on her face that said she'd probably have company tonight…  
  
"Half an hour til midnight. Wanna move this party to my place?" Logan nodded towards the couch, where Cindy and Star sat, still talking intently. Max looked at her siblings, who nodded. One was noticeably absent though.  
  
"Tawny slipped out about an hour ago with the red head," Syl offered, noticing that their brother was missing. "He said he'd come back tomorrow morning."  
  
Jondy snorted. "Hopefully he'll be wearing his own underwear this time."  
  
Max shot her sister a curious look, but figured it wasn't worth asking. There were some things she didn't need to know about her brother and his sex life.  
  
"Six of us, two motorcycles. I doubt Tawny left his bike here, so I guess we'll have to borrow your bike, Maxie." There was a hopeful look on Krit's face.  
  
"Or you could borrow Logan's car." Max automatically shot her brother a dirty look for daring to even think of such a thing. "No one takes my baby. No one." She looked at Logan over her shoulder. "Wanna go for a ride?" She needed the feeling of fresh air on her face. Even now, she still felt a little claustrophobic, even though no one at the party hadn't been someone she trusted and called a friend.  
  
"Looks like you're with me, Zane." Jondy pulled on her jacket, tossing her spare goggles to Zane. "Wanna race, Maxie?" Her blue eyes danced.  
  
"It's no contest," Max answered with her own crooked grin. "I'll kick your ass so far that you'll wind up back in Gillette."  
  
Jondy laughed. "We'll see about that, baby sister." She began to wheel her bike towards the door.  
  
"Headin' out, boo?" Original Cindy called from the couch. Her eyes looked bright in the flickering candlelight.  
  
Max walked over, grabbing her keys off the kitchen counter. "We're gonna crash at Logan's tonight, since six more bodies would get a little crowded in here." She leaned over, giving Cindy a hard hug. "Happy New Year, boo."  
  
Cindy returned the hug, a slight smile on her face. "You too, Max. New Years mean new starts. Maybe this'll be your turn, boo." She looked back at Star, her smile deepening. "Maybe it'll be my turn again too."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Dammit!" Max gunned the accelerator as they rode through the silent streets of Seattle. Logan's arms tightened around her waist automatically. "She can't beat me. This is my turf. There's no way she caught the shortcut."  
  
She caught a flash of Jondy's black motorcycle as they rounded the corner into the Financial District. From the pained look on Zane's face, Max could tell that her big brother wasn't enjoying the ride as much as Jondy was. Jondy had a look of pure ecstasy on her face.  
  
"I thought Jondy was your favorite sister," Logan shouted over the wind.  
  
"She is," Max called back. "But that still doesn't mean she can beat me on her bike."  
  
She grumbled as they pulled into the garage under Fogel Towers. Jondy sat on her bike, grinning like a cat, while Zane fell to his knees, kissing the ground in relief.  
  
"You weren't supposed to know about that back alley near the Big Rhino," Max grumbled as she parked her bike next to Jondy's. Jondy just looked at Logan, who found something more interesting to look at over near his neighbor's Jaguar. Before she could say anything else, the Aztek rumbled into the space next to their bikes.  
  
Syl jumped out. "So?" she asked. Max only glared at Jondy. "You owe me 20, Krit."  
  
"Maxie, how could you let me down?" Krit whined as he hopped out the other side, tossing the keys to Logan. "And don't blame me for Jondy knowing about the alley behind the Big Rhino. I didn't tell her." Her brother paled as she began to stalk towards him. "I swear, it was Syl. I swear, Maxie! Syl, back me up!"  
  
Her sister just laughed. "What were you saying, Krit?" Max couldn't help laughing as Syl backed away to stand next to Jondy.  
  
"Peace, boys and girls. I don't feel like separating you, so why don't we just take this all upstairs?" Zane interjected in a mild tone. There was a pained look on his face.  
  
"Buddha's no fun if he doesn't approve of fighting, big brother," Jondy remarked with a grin as they moved towards the elevator. "I don't think I like this new religion of yours."  
  
"It's not about religion, Jondy," Zane explained patiently. "It's finding inner peace and keeping the balance within your life." He shrugged. "It doesn't rewrite the past, but it helps me live with it a little bit."  
  
"Like Lex." Jondy hooked her arm through Zane's as they reached the elevator. "Father Alexander," she corrected herself. "I just never saw a lot of good in faith."  
  
Max looked at Logan, wondering if it was faith that kept him going in those long months while she was at Manticore. She didn't know if she could call what she had faith. Life hadn't exactly given her reason to believe in a greater good, but sometimes… Sometimes, even the eternal cynic inside her couldn't help but wonder.  
  
They were silent as they walked down the hallway to Logan's door. Max could hear the muffled sounds of parties coming from the floor above and below. The apartment was silent, so Bling had probably disappeared with whatever lady friend he had a date tonight. Logan walked to the kitchen, fumbling around in the wine rack. Krit and Syl slumped down on the couch, Jondy rummaging for glasses in the cabinet above the stove. When Logan finally found the bottle he wanted, he uncorked it, pouring out six equal shares into what was left of his mother's wedding crystal.  
  
Max took her glass, sipping the white Zinfandel slowly. It was a lighter wine, not the heavy red that Logan usually favored. "This is the last bottle from my parents' wedding, back in '85," Logan said, coming to stand beside her. "My mother said to open it at a special occasion. And I can't think of anything more special than family."  
  
The silence grew heavy in the apartment, the light-heartedness of the earlier party forgotten. Max crossed one arm over her stomach, feeling an oppressive weight building there, like something was coming-something big. She moved to the window, looking out the same way Logan did when he brooded. She sat on the arm of her chair, trying to pick something- anything-out from the lights of Seattle below, as if she could read her fortune there.  
  
"Do you feel it, Maxie?" Syl came to stand at her elbow, arms wrapped around herself.  
  
Jondy appeared on Max's other side. "Something's building. A storm or something. I can feel it, but…" She trailed off, her blue eyes trying to find something in the darkness below.  
  
Max looked at her sisters, their faces echoing the same sense of foreboding that she'd felt the night they attacked Manticore, and the morning of the first escape, when she was nine years old. Something was coming. Soon.  
  
Syl shivered, though Max knew it wasn't from the cold. From behind her, she could feel the warmth of Logan's body as she leaned back against him. Krit stood beside Syl, Zane next to Jondy. Even shoulder to shoulder with her family, Max still couldn't shake the feeling that this something was bigger than she could handle--bigger than all of them together could handle.  
  
The clock in the hall sounded twelve times, announcing the arrival of the New Year. It startled Max, the same way loud noises had once shocked her in the barracks on this same night, decades before.  
  
"Like that night when we were small-before the barracks, but after we got shoes-and all the horns went off…" Syl chuckled, as she jumped at the same moment Max did.  
  
"And we all ran so fast… We thought it was a siren or something, and even Zack fled with us." Zane said. He lifted up his glass of wine, his voice thick with emotion. "For Zack. Godspeed, big brother, and put in a good word for us in the Good Place."  
  
"For Tinga," Syl added. "And Brin, and Eva, and Jack. All the ones who didn't make it out alive."  
  
"For Case and Max, two kids who are in for a lot more than they bargained for." Krit raised his glass. "Someone watch over them, so they don't pay for the same things we did."  
  
"For Ben, telling stories and making room for us with Zack," Max whispered, trying not to remember the last look she'd seen on her laughing brother's face before she took his life.  
  
"For Hope," Jondy said finally, the tears on her face reflecting the lights of the city below. Somehow, Max didn't think her sister meant the emotion though.  
  
"And for a boy named Ender," Zane finished. "And a man who'll probably never know how right he was about kids playing soldier."  
  
"Cheers," her family echoed. Max drained the wine glass.  
  
"Happy New Year, X-5s." Logan leaned over, kissing both Jondy and Syl in turn. Krit and Zane each placed gentle kisses on her forehead, and Max soon found herself in another three-way hug with her two sisters-her only sisters remaining, from the original escape.  
  
"Happy New Year," Max whispered to the window and whatever darkness was building there. "We'll find you, and we'll beat your ass. You can't bring us down, no matter how hard you try."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jondy watched as Krit and Syl and Max and Logan each kissed, and then began to move towards their respective rooms. Zane had already fled for the night, claiming the last guestroom as his in Tawny's absence. For a while, Jondy prowled around the empty apartment. The Manticore part of her was tempted to hack into Logan's computer just for the challenge, but that part was getting its ass kicked by Jondy who had been out in the world for far too long. Maybe this would be the year they could stop running. Maybe this would be the year that it all changed. Bring it on, 2024…  
  
Without realizing it, she found herself at Zane's door. She didn't need hyper-sensitive hearing to know what was going on in the other two bedrooms. Logan and Max had never been subtle about their hornier than usual sex life, and Jondy'd been through a relationship with an X-5, so she knew how heady it was for Krit and Syl. It wasn't all about sex, but a good part of it was grounded in emotional and primal urges--mostly primal. But it wasn't primal urges that drew her to Zane's door. It was too many nights spent alone.  
  
"C'mon in," a voice called from inside. Jondy opened the door, not too surprised to find Zane still up, laying on top of the covers, as if he were waiting for her. He'd stripped down to his boxers, and she could feel the heat beginning to rise in her stomach. Zane was her brother, but he was also human and an X-5, and though he technically should have taken over for Zack, he'd stepped aside without even asking after Max broke out of Manticore. He'd never had the drive to protect the way it had been drilled into Max and Zack. And even now, he looked out for them as he could. He didn't offer comfort. But he didn't deny it either.  
  
"Can I--" Jondy trailed off, shutting the door behind her. "I can't…not tonight. I need--"  
  
Zane pulled back the covers from the bed, patting the place beside him. "I know, baby sister. I know."  
  
With a sigh, Jondy let herself sink onto the bed. She carefully stripped down to her underwear, gratefully taking the t-shirt that Zane held out for her. Without a word, she crawled under the covers, letting herself curl up against Zane's warm body.  
  
His arm wrapped around her, drawing her closer. "If you need…" This time he trailed off, not knowing the words to say. But they didn't need words. Not now, not for this. Zane rolled over, his large hand reaching out to trace her face in the darkness. "It's okay, Jondy. I know."  
  
And he did know, because he'd let her come to him the same way, that first time they'd met again after Zack died. There had never been many men in her life, and she knew that there was something twisted about the fact that she sought comfort in the arms of a man she'd called brother. But she wasn't like other people. None of them were. And there were times when Outside rules didn't apply. Krit and Syl were proof of that.  
  
"Her name would've been Hope," she whispered, letting the tears fall onto Zane's waiting hand. "Or Ender…"  
  
She felt his lips brush against her cheeks and lips, kissing away the tears. "There'll still be Hope," she heard him whisper as he rolled on top of her. "She might not be yours, but there will be Hope for us." In any other life, Zane, like Ben, would have been a prophet, or even a man with his own show on one of the religious networks. But somehow, Jondy felt that her brother might be right this time. Dark times were ahead, but something would carry them through. They would handle it together. They could be strong.  
  
And until it arrived, all they could do was run towards it, just as they had been since the escape. 


	3. The More Loving One

Even Though It's Painful, Always  
  
Chapter 3: The More Loving One  
  
Looking up at the stars, I know quite well  
  
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,  
  
But on earth the indifference is the least  
  
We have to dread from man or beast.  
  
How should we like it, were stars to burn  
  
With a passion for us we could not return?  
  
If equal affection cannot be,  
  
Let the more loving one be me.  
  
--The More Loving One, WH Auden  
  
January passed faster than it normally did. Two days into the new year, Tawny decided to head out to New Orleans. "It's only six weeks til Mardi Gras, baby sister. I need time to prepare." Zane drove to New Mexico, on his latest quest for enlightenment. And Syl and Krit decided to take an X- 5 version of a honeymoon up in Vancouver, just because it was close enough, yet still far enough to be safe. Alec called every now and then, just to give her the 411 on the S1W's latest wild goose chase. At least he and Asha were still speaking.  
  
Turning over in bed, Max couldn't help grinning at the body that snored next to her. Jondy swore every day that she was gonna leave Seattle. And every day, she went to work at Jam Pony, badgered Normal and broke the hearts of their male coworkers. But for reasons that only Jondy knew, her sister stayed. And for the first time in her life, Max got a taste of what it was like to have family always around. That sense of doom she'd felt at New Years gradually faded away into her usual fatalistic view of the world. For once, it was all good, and she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.  
  
"Quit kicking, Maxie," Jondy muttered, rolling herself up tighter into her share of the covers. "I'll tell Zack on you…" It was rare that her sister actually crashed hard enough to talk in her sleep, but Jondy had been worrying a lot lately. Cindy'd berated Jondy yesterday for biting her nails off and then chewing the red polish ragged. Max didn't know what was eating at her sister, but it was something big. Something that she didn't want to talk about. Unless Jondy was starting to come into heat, which could explain it.  
  
They'd both been sleeping more lately. They spent half of their time at Logan's, and half their time with Original Cindy, not that her boo minded too much. Cindy and Star'd been getting tight lately. Sometimes Max wondered if her roommate was falling in love with Star, especially after hearing hours of how hot the girl was, and how soulful her green eyes… Not that Max minded, since she was sure she was just as bad about Logan. And if it meant her best friend was happy, than more power to her. Happiness was in as shitty supply as money, and every little bit counted.  
  
With a groan, she rolled over and got out of bed. Jondy took that opportunity to fling her arms and legs out spread-eagle, claiming Max's side of the bed as her own. Max chuckled to herself as she yawned and stretched. For someone so small, Jondy took up a lot of space when she wanted. Her sister had never had a problem with making herself known when she wanted to. But like all their brothers and sisters, Jondy was just as good as fading into the shadows.  
  
Max walked from her alcove towards their kitchenette, twisting the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. Logan hadn't pushed her into planning their wedding yet, but she could tell he was getting excited. He kept beaming like a little boy every time he introduced her as his fiancée. Not that she minded or anything. Jondy still teased her about the dopey look she got on her face sometimes, when she remembered Logan proposing. Max could still see him kneeling in front of her, holding the ring up to her as if the fate of the world rested on her answer. She still doubted, sometimes, if she'd made the right choice. But it was the only chance she had, and if she didn't try, she'd never know if she would be the one to break Manticore's curse.  
  
"You're up early." Star's soft voice startled Max. Her green eyes almost glowed in what morning light filtered in through the dirty windows. Cindy's new homegirl was beautiful--not as beautiful as someone made by Manticore, but close enough. She almost looked like she could be gen- synthed, built along the same curvy lines that Syl was. Smooth brown skin, smooth brown hair, cat's green eyes… And she wasn't a bitch either. She actually reminded Max a lot of her name--a little distant, a lot quiet, always watching. She didn't say much, but her silence seemed to suit Original Cindy more, as if her roommate needed someone to help her reflect. Star was a far cry from Diamond, but it was good to see Cindy happy again.  
  
"Couldn't sleep. It happens sometimes." Max didn't mean to be a bitch this early in the morning, but it was still weird having another person in her space. She'd never minded Cindy bringing her girlfriends home before, and she had nothing against Star, but it was different when it was the same woman every week. For a moment, she wondered if Cindy felt the same way about Jondy, even though Jondy contributed to grocery and bribe money each month.  
  
Star nodded from behind her mug of tea. "And then, all you can do is try and think of something else, so that the demons don't get in."  
  
Opening up the fridge, Max thought about that as she rooted around for the leftover pizza she'd hid from the night before. Demons were nothing new. Her night seizures hadn't been half as bad since Jondy moved in, meaning the midnight calls to Fogel Towers only happened a few times a month now. But she still couldn't shake off the feeling like something was dogging her, something that wasn't quite right…  
  
"It's not demons tonight." Max laid the pizza carton on the counter. "It's like I'm restless or something. Or I was hungry." She took two cheesy pieces out of the carton and laid them one on top of each other like a sandwich. "Dunno. Could be winter and my body thinks I should be hibernating, could be I'm just bored." There hadn't been much to do with Eyes Only lately. Jondy and Krit had helped her on the last big run against one of the DAs who decided to take up gun-running as a hobby. But other than that, her time with Logan had been mostly recreational. Well, recreational and clothing optional…  
  
She could feel Star's eyes on her as she polished off the pizza. For a moment, Max thought about offering the other woman some, but decided against it. Sharing was something she hadn't exactly learned the finer points of, even after living Outside. Habits were hard to break, especially when it came to things like pizza. She loved pizza, and all food in general. The sheer variety was enough to make her puddle. "If you're hungry, I think there's still half a chicken in back from Saturday. Logan made it, so it'll be good. But don't eat the stuff in the foil. I think Jondy's trying to recreate life in there or something."  
  
Star actually chuckled. She had a nice laugh, even if she seemed a little too serious sometimes. Max couldn't even imagine what life would've been like without a sense of humor. It had been hard enough, those first months out of Manticore, trying to adapt to a world she'd never dreamed of. Humor wasn't part of Manticore's curriculum, but it was a vital element in survival tactics. And they'd had their own version of fun, even if it did involve the occasional soap fight in the shower, and making faces behind Zack's back in the barracks at night.  
  
"Any pizza left, Maxie?" Jondy padded across the floor in a pair of mismatched socks and a long shirt that Max recognized as one of Zane's. She glared her fiercest Zack glare when she noticed the carton was empty. "You ate seven pieces of pizza for breakfast?"  
  
Max shrugged. "I was hungry."  
  
Jondy shot her the look of death from behind her fringe of straight brown hair. "Cat DNA my ass. More like fucking vacuum cleaner DNA…" Every once in a while, there came a day when all the sleep Jondy hadn't gotten caught up with her. Today seemed like it was that day. And as far as Max was concerned, she was going to stay as far away from her sister as possible.  
  
"There's still the chicken in the fridge," Max offered. "Or the leftover Japanese from yesterday. I don't think Bling ate all the gyoza."  
  
"Gyoza," Jondy muttered as she dug around in the fridge. "I wanted pizza…"  
  
At the mention of pizza, Max's stomach began to rumble again. "If you don't want the gyoza, Jondy, I'll take 'em." The only problem with Japanese food was that all the rice made her stomach think she was full. An hour later, and she was hungry again. And somehow, Max doubted Normal would let her take a munchie break five minutes after she got into work. Her stomach gurgled again, this time sounding like the pipes did before the water heater exploded. "Or maybe potstickers and pizza are a bad combo for breakfast…"  
  
In spite of herself, Jondy began to laugh. "How do you survive without a keeper, Maxie?"  
  
Max leaned against Jondy. "Cindy asks me the same thing sometimes," she admitted with a crooked grin.  
  
"You both gonna need keepers if you keep wakin' Original Cindy up before the sun shines," Cindy's voice called from behind her curtained-off alcove. The flowered sheet was pushed aside, and Original Cindy stumbled out, rubbing at her eyes just as Jondy had a moment before. "And don't tell me you ate all the pizza, boo, or I might have to put a smackdown on your ass…"  
  
"Potsticker?" Jondy held the bowl out as if it was a peace offering. "And there's chicken, and the weird blue stuff in the foil from December…"  
  
Original Cindy shook her head as she leaned forward, kissing Star lightly on the mouth. "Original Cindy don't know how either of you survived without keepers, sugar. But I gotta admit, you two done a pretty slam-ass job. Now hand over that chicken before Original Cindy start eating the plate, aiight?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Logan sat hunched over the computer, dread filling his stomach. Something wasn't right in Gillette. For some reason, the SAC base was reactivated. It was only a small contingent of OB-GYNs and medical staff who had been transferred-not more than 30 in all, but any sign of Manticore re-rearing its ugly head wasn't a good thing. Somehow, he didn't think this was the end of it either.  
  
"Home, we're honey!" Jondy's light voice echoed through the apartment as he heard the sound of two pairs of feet hitting the floor under the skylight. At least Max and Jondy kept life interesting. He never was sure what he was going to get from the two of them. The last time Jondy'd been in a playful mood, it had involved a snowball fight under the Space NeedleS at 3 am.  
  
"In here!" Logan closed out the window, opening up the other thing that had been occupying his mind when he was supposed to be writing that article on gene-therapy overseas for the Streets of Seattle Press. It was something a little more urgent than Manticore, something he and Max would have to start planning soon--their wedding. He'd planned a wedding once, with Valerie, and that had been almost as big and gaudy as Bennett's wedding. But Max wasn't Val. Max wasn't using the Cale name to climb the social ladder. She never made false promises, never tried to make him into something he wasn't…  
  
"Hey," Max said, leaning over his shoulder to kiss him. "Find something on Manticore?" She peered at the screen.  
  
"Do you think of anything besides Manticore and saving the world?" Jondy looked over his other shoulder. "Writing more poetry, huh? 'There were times I was lost, and you found me. There were days which were heavy, and you lightened my heart,'" she read. "Not bad, Miracle Boy."  
  
"Through it all, since the day when we met, there was you for me and me for you," Max continued reading, a crooked smile on her face. "That hasn't changed. That never will change."  
  
Logan pushed back his wheelchair slightly and turned to face Max, taking her hand in his. "Times have been good, and times have been bad, and still, our love has endured--and triumphed," he recited. He couldn't keep the dopey smile off his face. "I take thee, Max Guevara, to be my lawfully wedded wife."  
  
Max knelt beside him. "I take thee, Logan Cale, to be my lawfully wedded husband."  
  
Jondy stood over them, one hand on each of their shoulders as she finished in the same soft voice, "Through passion, through sorrow and hope, through death and through life. No matter what tomorrow may bring, we will face it together." Logan heard a soft sniffling from behind him. "Shit, Logan. That's beautiful."  
  
He looked down at Max's face, tracing the soft line of her cheekbone. Her face almost shone in the flickering light of the computer, as if for the first time in her life, she felt nothing but happiness. "Our wedding vows." Max's dark eyes widened. "If you like them…"  
  
She nodded slowly, as if the weight of the words finally dawned on her. "It doesn't sound like crossing paths by fate, and partners by choice, but it's still beautiful," Max said finally. "Did you write it?"  
  
Logan shook his head. "You'll laugh, actually."  
  
Looking closer at the screen, Jondy scrolled down. "X-men, The Ties that Bind? You got this from an X-men comic book?" She snickered softly. "Only you two. Only you two would use wedding vows from a comic book and have it be appropriate." Jondy shook her head and snorted. "Wolverine was probably your hero growing up, just because you both had the same name."  
  
He could feel himself blushing as Max began to laugh softly. "What's wrong with that?" he asked defensively.  
  
Jondy leaned down, giving him a light kiss on his forehead. "I'm glad someone still has the guts to be a superhero in this world, big brother. At least I know Max'll keep you in line and watch your skinny ass. We're gonna need you for a while yet." She snorted again. "And somehow, I think it's safer with the two of you together…"  
  
Max stuck her tongue out at her sister. "So, what's for dinner?" The mood broken, Logan found himself suddenly being propelled across the floor by two X-5s. "I didn't smell any food as we came in."  
  
"I thought you were keeping her fed, Logan. All she did at work today was eat. We stopped for lunch twice," Jondy complained as they entered the kitchen. "And then she ate all the leftover pizza for breakfast this morning."  
  
"Like you didn't chow down on thirty wings today when Sketchy brought in leftover chicken," Max countered as she opened the fridge. "Haven't you ever heard of TV dinners, Logan?"  
  
Logan shuddered. "Not when they stopped making them right after the Pulse. I don't care how long the shelf-life is. There are some things I won't eat. TV dinners and Twinkies are among them."  
  
"Now I'm craving artificially-flavored sponge cake." Max began digging through the fridge again. "There's leftover sauce from the pasta on Friday."  
  
Jondy waved a box of spaghetti. "Noodles from the cupboard. If you've got some bread, we can make dinner."  
  
"I can boil the water," Max offered, a proud smile on her face. Her cooking skills hadn't progressed much since her initial foray into cooking, but Logan didn't care. He still loved her.  
  
Dinner was quiet. The electricity bombed out about halfway through dinner, leaving the light of about a hundred candles to fill the seemingly-empty apartment. The candlelight seemed appropriate for the somber mood. Jondy didn't chatter as much as she usually did. It was odd, sitting between the silent two women. Logan was honestly surprised he hadn't gotten tired of having Max's sister around yet. Maybe it was just that he was used to her, with all the time she spent in Seattle after Max was captured. Or maybe it was just that he couldn't imagine life without Jondy.  
  
In some ways, Max's family had become his own. And in some ways, he preferred that to his own flesh and blood. Yeah, Jondy usually spent the night at his place now when Max did, but she always stayed in the guestroom. And there was a comfort in knowing that someone else was there-- someone who could be there for Max when he couldn't, and who could understand all the parts of her that he never would.  
  
"So…" Logan and Max said together. She broke off at the same time he did, as if she remembered that same night of poulet chez Cale--that miraculous moment when everything in his life seemed to fall perfectly into place.  
  
"So…" They started again, this time laughing. Max was beautiful in the candlelight. She was always beautiful, but she seemed to be more so tonight, as if something had deepened her beauty.  
  
"Okay, someone obviously isn't letting me in on the joke, but I'm cool with that," Jondy finally broke in with a sigh. "Not to feel like the third wheel or anything here, but…"  
  
"Jondy, don't leave." Max's face fell, as if she couldn't face the thought of losing her sister again. "I still want you here." She looked at Logan, as if daring him to disagree with her. "Maybe if we all just got out of Seattle for a while…"  
  
Jondy pushed back her chair and stood. She began to pace around the dining room like a caged cat. Once again, Logan could see where the feline DNA came into play, in the way she stalked about the dark room.  
  
Logan wheeled back from the table, pushing himself until his chair was planted directly in Jondy's path. She only glared as her pacing brought her back in front of him, blue eyes crackling with the same fire he'd seen often enough in Zack's. "We don't want you to leave," he said, giving her the same brutal honesty that she'd given him since the beginning. "You aren't a third wheel, Jondy. You're our family."  
  
Jondy smiled a bit at the emphasis he'd placed on 'our.' "I'm just feeling restless again. The last time I felt this restless, it was when Max--" She turned to face her sister, still sitting at the table. Her voice was soft as she continued. "And I can't handle that again. I lost Zack, but I got back Max. Does this mean I'm gonna lose Max and have nothing left?"  
  
She looked small as she stood there, one of Manticore's finest soldiers. She looked like the little girl she'd never been, the little sister he might've had, with his same brown hair and blue eyes. There was even something about her delicate face that reminded Logan of his mother.  
  
"Get away if you have to. My family still has a cabin outside of town, if you wanna crash there for a few days." Logan reached out and took her hand. How could anyone have created such little hands to kill? He grinned at her. "Free vacation…"  
  
Jondy turned to look out the window for a moment, a habit she'd picked up from Max. "Maybe in a few weeks. I just feel like I'm needed here for now." She looked back, and Logan couldn't help noticing the anxious look she shot at Max. He'd learned to trust an X-5's intuition, in the same way he'd learned to trust that warmth inside him that meant his connection to Max.  
  
With a yawn, Jondy dropped his hand and made her way towards the hall. "I think I'm actually going to crash," she said, a look of amazement on her face. "You're making me tired, Maxie. I don't like this." But there was a smile on her face again.  
  
Max stood, reaching out to hug her sister. They made quite a pair--slight Max, and slighter Jondy, the dark and the light. He couldn't even imagine what they must've been like at Manticore. They stood for a while, just clinging to each other. Logan supposed that's how you treated your family, if you didn't know from one day to the next if you'd ever see them again. He still got the feeling that there was something Jondy wasn't telling him, something that he should know about Max…  
  
"Night, baby sister. Night, brother Logan." With a kiss for each of them, Jondy took the lantern that sat on the counter and headed down the hallway, her figure visibly drooping. There seemed to be an invisible weight dragging all of them lately, but Jondy looked the most affected. Max was seemed more tired now, but she still turned the same irrepressible spirit to the world.  
  
His dark angel slipped into his lap, still watching the empty hallway. "I think I might crash with Jondy tonight," she said, resting her head against his. "She needs me."  
  
Logan nodded, grabbing a candle and slowly wheeling them towards the bedroom. "Just knowing you're down the hallway is good enough for me," he whispered into her hair. For once, he was glad of the Japanese-style rice paper walls in his apartment. It meant that you could hear every sound in the room next to you, but it also meant that he could still listen to the sound of Max's breathing, even from the next room over. He stopped the chair for a moment, letting his free arm close about her. "I missed you so much…"  
  
"I know." He could feel her lips against his neck and trailing across his cheek. "I could feel it, even at Manticore." Pulling back from her slightly, he leaned in to kiss her.  
  
"Y'know, before I head to bed, I think I might need a shower," Max said between kisses. Her smile changed slightly to what he could almost call a leer. "Wanna join?"  
  
He chuckled. "You really have to ask?"  
  
Max grinned her crooked grin. "It never hurts to ask."  
  
As they reached the bathroom, she slipped out of his lap and began to light the different candles that sat around the large bathroom. Then, she turned on the faucets in the shower. As steam began to fill the room, Logan couldn't help noticing the rapturous look on her face. "Sometimes I think you love me only for my hot water heater," he said with a laugh.  
  
She gave him an innocent look, dark eyes wide. "Your hot water heater and your cooking," she answered, an indignant look on her face. "Hot water, hot food, and clean undies are all I need to be happy." Max took off her shirt, carefully folding it and setting it on the wicker hamper in the corner. It still amazed him that she could be so neat, even when she was horny. That was one of the things that had changed about Max, since she returned from Manticore. What ever they did in there to her, she no longer flung her clothes haphazardly about the apartment. Everything was put in its place, as if she'd regressed back to what she called a childhood. But some habits you couldn't break.  
  
He just watched her for a while as she stripped, enjoying the sight of her lean brown body turned almost a soft bronze by the candlelight. Logan absently picked at the neck of his sweater, not quite sure of how to take it off without taking his eyes off Max's almost nude body. Damn, she was beautiful. And she was completely his…completely alive.  
  
Still in the tank top she wore in place of a bra and her less-than-sexy cotton underwear, Max moved towards him. "Need some help?" she asked, grinning. Without waiting for an answer, she quickly pulled his sweater and undershirt over his head as if he were a child. Then, with her usual patience, she began unzipping his khakis with the same efficient speed. Once his clothes had joined his on top of the hamper, Logan maneuvered himself out of the chair and onto the lip of the large bathtub. His eyes still on Max, he fumbled with his boxers. He was surprised at what he found growing in his boxers. Usually it took more than a near-naked Max to arouse any response from his lower half, unless she was in heat. When she was in heat, he could almost feel the rush of her blood in his own veins… According to Krit, that was the way it was with most of his brothers when they were near an X-5 female in heat, even Lex, who'd given himself over to the priesthood almost three years ago.  
  
Boxers and underwear joined the other clothes, and Max moved his body onto the tiled seat in the shower with practiced ease. The heat of the water felt good on his tired muscles. Bling had been extra-hard in their workout, to the point where Logan actually thought he could feel pain in his legs. He still had twinges, every now and then, from the aborted treatment Dr. Vertes had begun. But twinges weren't enough to make his legs work again. And dammit if he didn't miss being able to stand up as he peed.  
  
All that mattered was Max's wet body in the shower next to his, rubbing up against him as she soaped up his back and lathered up his hair with the flowery shampoo that gave Krit fits. Max was playful as she dabbed soap on his nose, and then left Ivory-tasting kisses down his chest. Without his glasses, her slender body was slightly blurred in the light of the candles. Shadows played across her belly until it almost looked as if it had grown a bit. For a moment, Logan let himself imagine what the smooth brown skin of her flat stomach would look like, stretched over a pregnant belly. For a moment, he pictured a child at her breast--a child with the Cale blue eyes and soft brown curls, playing with the locket that still hung in the hollow of Max's throat.  
  
"I love you," he whispered against her lips, as her hands began to soap up places he couldn't exactly feel anymore. His hands left soapy trails over her backside as he drew her body closer to his.  
  
"I love you too." Her dark eyes hovered inches from his own as she straddled his lap, soap falling forgotten to the tiled floor of the shower. She eased herself into position, carefully bracing herself against her forearms on the shower walls. "Through passion, through sorrow and hope," Max whispered against the thunder of water in his ears.  
  
Logan laid the flat of his palm against her left breast, his right arm drawing her closer still to join them together. "Through death and through life." He kissed her, one hand against her beating heart, the other wrapping around her waist to hold her up. She sank down towards him and began to move in a rhythm they both knew well, affirming their life and how far they still were from death.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jondy stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the rage of hormones within her. Dammit if it hadn't been four months since the last wave hit. That little bit with Zane at New Years had been purely emotional, it seemed. But this… She groaned, turning over and burying her face in the down pillow. She really didn't need this right now. At all.  
  
That guy Ty was kinda cute though. Brian was sweet, with those puppy-dog brown eyes of his. She'd gone to Crash with Brian twice and to dinner with Ty once. She'd even let Ty fumble and paw at her for all of ten minutes before she decided it was time to go home. He still mumbled the occasional apology in her direction, but it wasn't his fault that she had issues. It wasn't his fault that he was a normal human being, and she only went for transgenic guys.  
  
For a moment, Jondy considered hitting the streets on her baby and just riding this heat out. But she'd heard an abbreviated version of what happened the last time Max did that. They still got free pizza on occasion because if it. If her heat tuned her in to both men and women, her problem would be solved, because Original Cindy had more than once hinted at being willing. But the heat wasn't just an enhanced sexual drive, it was an intensified desire to procreate, and procreate didn't exactly happen with another woman, even for an X-5.  
  
The door opened. Jondy automatically slid off the bed into her ready position, crouching beside the nightstand. She saw a hand flash through the darkness, gesturing for 'all clear.' There were times when Jondy thanked Manticore's foresight to give them night-vision. She let her body relax, sinking back against the bed. "Knock next time, Maxie."  
  
Max shut the door behind her, still wrapped in a thick robe. Her hair was wet, and Jondy picked up a rather obvious scent on her that spoke of what her baby sister'd been doing. It had surprised her at first, how creative Max and Logan got when it came to that. Where there was a will…and Max had always shown enough will for a squadron of X-5s.  
  
But the fact that Jondy knew that there was a virile man just down the hall didn't make matters any better. Especially since Max had so obviously recently enjoyed his company. This was Logan. Logan wasn't some superfly guy. He was her brother. But Zack had been her brother, and Zane…  
  
Jondy groaned again, burying her face under the pillow. She felt the bed dip as Max sat beside her. Pushing back the pillow, she saw a knowing look on her sister's face.  
  
"You sure you don't wanna jet for a few days?" Max's dark eyes were worried as she got up and walked to the dresser. "Normal'd understand. Just tell him you've got what I've got and he'll give you a week." Her head turned towards the wall that faced Logan's bedroom. "Or maybe--"  
  
"Maxie, I can deal. If worse comes to worse, I'll just hunt Ty or Brian down tomorrow." Brian had his own dark beauty, like the guy Kendra had brought home for New Years. He also had an obsession with Heavy Metal bands, but her feline DNA didn't care at the moment. Iron Maiden bedamned. She just wanted him to-- "Max?"  
  
Her sister stood in the corner next to the dresser, one hand in the middle of rummaging in a drawer. Max's robe was partly opened, and she stared down at her body with a shell-shocked look on her face.  
  
Reaching out for the on the nightstand, Jondy quickly lit the lantern she'd taken from the dining room. In the soft light, she could see that Max's face had drained of all color. And as she knelt beside her sister, she could see what had shocked Max so badly.  
  
Max's normally flat belly had rounded slightly--not much, but enough. Enough for Jondy to remember what her own stomach had looked like, early in pregnancy. Enough for Max, who probably hadn't seen too many pregnant bellies, to recognize the bit of bulge in her stomach for what it was.  
  
"Maxie?" Jondy reached out, touching the smooth skin lightly. There wouldn't be movement yet--not for another four or five months. She'd suspected that her baby sister was pregnant, especially since Max's last heat was two months ago, but she hadn't Iknown/I. And knowing…  
  
"It could be fat," Max protested. "We don't know. Don't I have to pee on a stick or something?" Her dark eyes looked panicked.  
  
Setting the lantern down on the dresser, Jondy reached in the drawer and fumbled for the first clothes she came to. Seeing that Max would be of no help, she pulled the undershirt over Max's head, maneuvering her sister to step into the legs of the boxers. Letting the robe fall to the floor, Jondy pulled her sister towards the bed and made her lie down. "We can get you a test, Max. Or we could take you to that doctor friend of Logan's-- Stephen Hawking, or whatever his name is."  
  
"Sebastian," Max corrected automatically. "No, we can't--I can't--" She shook her head, and stood, beginning to pace around the room. "I'm not pregnant. I can't get pregnant. We can't--"  
  
"Shit happens, baby sister." Had she behaved the same way when she found out? Jondy had nearly blocked those memories out of her mind, not wanting to feel that pain again, that hope that maybe this would make Zack stay…two months later, she'd found out that Zack was recaptured, and the baby… The baby would've been a toddler now, almost four years old. Jondy watched her sister, trying not to see herself four years before. "It happened to me."  
  
Max stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Jondy. "What?" The perplexed look on her face was one Jondy remembered well from Manticore--a look of shock, bewilderment, and what almost looked like betrayal. "You were--" And a look of comprehension. Her dark eyes dropped to the ground. "Zack's."  
  
They could both say the name now at least. That was more than when Max first got out, when she told Jondy whose heart saved her. Jondy'd never hated anyone so much in her life as she hated Max at that moment--her baby sister, arguably the one who'd set Manticore on their trail again.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Max's look of betrayal became one of hurt. "Why didn't you--" She shook her head, lips pressed together. "When--" There were questions in her eyes, so many questions that Max looked like she couldn't decide what to ask first.  
  
Jondy curled up on the bed, wrapping her arms around a pillow. It still wasn't something she liked to think about. It was hard enough to deal with heat without remembering those hazy days in the Sierras. It had been a weekend getaway, just herself and her bike and her baby, but when she'd returned to San Francisco a few days later… That had been her last drunken spree and her last roommate, the one who'd found her on the bathroom floor, bleeding.  
  
Max sat on the edge of the bed, almost as if she was afraid to get too close. This was why she never told her little sister, because of the way it would change things between them. It wasn't until later that Jondy'd realized Max had brought Lydecker down on herself, pestering that private detective to search for anything related to Manticore. A small part of her still blamed Max for everything. It was those searches that drew Zack to Max, since Max never got her barcode removed. Jondy knew how much it bugged him, all those years, of not being able to find Max. Max and Lex had been the hardest. And Jondy had been the first…  
  
"I was the first one he found, when I was thirteen. Zack told you he got out during the Pulse, didn't he?" Max shook her head, and Jondy allowed herself to feel a tiny bit of satisfaction. At least there were some pieces of Zack that she had that Max never would. "After things settled down, he started looking for us, breaking into welfare offices all over Wyoming and checking to see if any of us were listed in their records. He traced us as far as the Pulse at least, made sure we were all okay in our foster homes." Jondy didn't like remembering those first few months after the escape. Wyoming in winter wasn't the easiest place to try to survive, but she knew she couldn't get caught with a barcode on the back of her neck. She didn't learn much about the outside world, but she knew that not everyone was marked like that. And that her barcode would be the easiest way for Manticore to track her down.  
  
Leaning back against the headboard, she could almost see Zack's eyes as he told her, a little each visit, of what had happened since the escape. How Krit and Zane had stayed together for five years until Zack found them, splitting them apart. Zane had gone to LA and found Samantha and her little girl. Krit settled somewhere in Texas.  
  
"I was in San Luis Obispo, an old college town in Central California. There was a bunch of us--Pulse Orphans, they called us, 'cause they all thought our parents were victims of the riots after the Pulse." She could see recognition in her sister's eyes. Max had probably fallen in with the same kind of gang, moving with the same military precision that their squadron had at Manticore. "I think I was Jenny then, or Jamie, or Jessie… But we saw this tattoo parlor, and some of the older kids went in to get inked…" Jondy could still remember the faded sign--Tattoos Done and Removed. It had looked like the kind of joint that would ask no questions. Her thirteen year old self had looked the part of a street kid. For someone raised on two showers a day, the filth of the Post-Pulse world had come as a shock. But she dealt. Filth meant freedom, and it was a small price to pay.  
  
"I had a little cash. My fingers were quick, and I looked young, so no one suspected. The gang kept me around cause of that--and the fact that I could kick their asses." Jondy grinned as Max laughed. "We could've taken 'em by storm, baby sister… Living the high life…" She shook her head. The past was past. "I had money, they didn't ask any questions, and they removed my barcode." It was the pain she remembered most, that intense feeling like someone was burning her cells right down to her very genetic code. But she hadn't cried, even as the laser ate into her skin. Soldiers didn't cry. "I didn't know they kept records. It was four years after the Pulse. Some places were starting to get their systems back online. But they took note of me, because I was so young, and my tattoo was so weird. And I guess Zack had figured it out by then that we might try to get them removed…"  
  
Maybe it wasn't her most brilliant move, but after that, Jondy'd only headed about an hour north, to a little town called Cambria. She'd cut her hair and bleached it blond, becoming just another Pulse Orphan in another town. "I cried so hard when it came back a month later. I was so pissed that I went back to the tattoo parlor and almost killed the woman…" But when she got to that little tattoo parlor, someone else was waiting for her.  
  
"And Zack met you there." Max smiled slightly. "And the first thing he said was 'What the hell do you think you're doing, soldier?'"  
  
Jondy laughed. "Right after he smacked me." And right before he kissed her. That kiss had changed everything in her world. Her big brother had always been her hero, but at that moment, his placed in her life shifted. "I guess Zack wasn't the only one who thought we might get our barcodes removed. Apparently, I was the first to do it at a place that was still wired for cable." Luckily he was in the area, only three hours away in Los Angeles. "He threw me on the back of this old bike he had and we headed to San Fran. He tried to ditch me, but I just stole a bike and followed him."  
  
"The bike before your baby." The composed look on Max's face reminded Jondy of those nights in the barracks when they listened to Ben's stories, her head tipped slightly to the side.  
  
"He ditched me in Portland and said if I ever followed him again, he'd kick my ass for endangering the mission and breaking the objective. Then he gave me a pager number, in case I ever needed him." Jondy chuckled at Max's scowl. She knew her baby sister was still hurt that Zack never told her the contact number. But while Zack was a good planner, he didn't always rationalize everything through. And once he settled on an opinion…  
  
"You were in Portland about the same time I was in Salem." There was a look of regret on Max's face. "You were that close, and I never knew…"  
  
Jondy reached out across the bed, and Max's hand met her halfway. "They taught us well at Manticore. What else can you say?"  
  
Max only nodded. "Then Zack found the others?"  
  
"Krit and Zane got arrested in Boise. That's when he made them split. And Zane had run into Syl on his way to LA." It hadn't happened as neatly as it sounded. Manticore taught Zack all too well about hacking and surveillance. Sometimes it was pure luck that he got to their siblings before the Boys in Black did. That was what life was all about--staying one step ahead. "He'd found all of us by about five years ago. Nothing tipped him off about you until that detective started making inquiries and attracting the wrong kind of attention."  
  
"So it was all my fault." Max drew her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. For a moment, Jondy was tempted to let her little sister think that, but this was Max, and as mad as she ever was at Max…  
  
She scooted across the bed, leaning up against her baby sister. "Manticore's been on all our tails, Maxie. It wasn't just you. It was all of us. We were sloppy. Ask Tawny sometime about how he almost fucked one of Lydecker's operatives six years ago."  
  
Max actually laughed. "So you and Zack…"  
  
"Me and Zack." It was convenience, really. He'd been there, moving her to San Francisco, during her first heat. Her cycles had never been regular, but often as not, his presence seemed to trigger one. It was as if some part of him subconsciously knew… "And the last time, I caught. And when I started going into premature labor, he didn't answer the contact number."  
  
Jondy shook her head, but the memories came anyway. She'd only been four months along. The fetus still looked more like a fish than a baby, but she didn't know if that was just because of her fucked up genetics, or if that was the way nature worked. It was still recognizably human though. Looking back, she could almost see the beginnings of Zack's stubborn chin. "I was getting out of the city for a few days with my baby, and the real baby decided to come…" Her eyes burned. "There was blood…almost as much blood as when Eva died. And it was…"  
  
Her sister's arms tightened around her. "I don't want this baby," Max said. "Case and Max--"  
  
Pressing one finger against Max's lips, Jondy forced her sister to look at her. "Don't make that decision yet, Maxie. Think about it, make sure it's true, and then decide whether or not you're gonna tell Logan before you do anything."  
  
Max nodded. She still looked a little pale, as if it hadn't quite hit her yet. Decisions could be made later, when things looked a little clearer. Without a word, she began pushing down the comforter. Jondy waited until Max found her spot on the mattress and then curled up next to her, just as they'd done almost every night for the past six weeks. She leaned over and blew out the candle within the lantern case. At least her sister knew that Logan loved her more than life. She had a rock on her finger to prove it. And Jondy knew that Logan would stand by Max--if Max ever got around to telling him… But it was good to know, now, that it was true, even as much as it hurt her.  
  
"What would you've named the baby?" Max's voice was soft in the darkness.  
  
"Ender," Jondy said, pulling the covers up to her chin, trying not to imagine a little boy with blond hair and stubborn blue eyes. "Ender if he was a boy."  
  
Max made a noise that sounded like a cross between a sob and a laugh. "And if it was a girl?"  
  
She'd run through every name of her sisters, trying to pick the perfect one. But no little girl should be bogged down with ten middle names. "Max was one choice. But in the end…Hope."  
  
"Hope." Max yawned. "Hope, or Leia, because Logan keeps saying he's some guy named Han…" She groaned. "I'm not supposed to be tired. I don't sleep." But in the dark, Jondy could see her little sister's eyelids beginning to flutter shut.  
  
Sleep wasn't an option tonight. But she could ride this heat out. She'd done it before… Max shifted, so that her head rested on Jondy's chest. Her arm automatically wrapped around Max. In the dark, Jondy studied her free arm, and the thin cuts on the inside of her wrist. To her night vision, the cuts looked pale green. She wondered, sometimes, if it was that blood that bound her to Max, and kept her in a constant orbit around her brothers and sisters. But it wasn't just blood, it was years of memories and feelings and nightmares, all rolled up into one odd connection. They were family, and as much as she wanted to hate them, and to hate Manticore…  
  
She stared up at the ceiling, trying not to imagine what 2024 would bring.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You've gotten sloppy, X-5452." The voice was cold enough to turn Max's blood to ice. She pulled at her restraints, but this time, they wouldn't give. Renfro's sharp red nail ran itself along her cheek, forcing her to look at the blond bitch. "But you're home now with your family, so everything will be alright."  
  
Max tugged again, twisting her wrists against the steel bands. The last time, she'd been able to yank them out of the wall… Renfro laughed. "There's no escape, X-5452. You got away from us twice. There will be no third chance for you." She felt the soft prick of a needle entering into her skin, and her muscles went lax. As much as she tried, nothing twitched. Maybe this was the same helplessness that Logan felt, that lack of control… Max could feel panic beginning to build up inside her. Renfro wouldn't win. She couldn't…  
  
She felt hands pulling up the bottom of her undershirt, exposing the soft bulge of her belly. "And you brought us a gift," Renfro cooed. "This isn't the child you were supposed to breed, but we will take this one in exchange. Thank you for being so thoughtful, X-5452."  
  
"No!" Max screamed. "You can't take her! You can't take her! Logan? Logan!" In the back of her mind, she heard the echo of another woman screaming the same words as she tried to move her arms, tried to force their dead weight to protect her baby. "No!"  
  
She kicked and fought the arms that surrounded her, her foot connecting with something soft. "Dammit, Max, stop fighting!" It was a woman's voice, but a different, lighter one. A voice she knew. A voice that sounded like--  
  
"Shhh, Max." She knew the second voice. She stopped struggling, and arms cradled her against a male chest. "It's okay, Max." One hand rubbed the back of her neck, pressing lightly on her barcode. "We're here, Max. It's just Logan and Jondy. We're here. We won't let her get you."  
  
Logan. Her arms automatically reached up, wrapping around his neck. She buried her face in his shoulder, comforting herself with his very real smell of clean skin and shampoo. His hand fell from her neck to her back, rubbing it in slow circles to comfort her. His bare shoulder was wet with her tears, but Max knew Logan wouldn't care. He was used to this, these moments of panic where all she could do was cry, chest heaving and everything, just like one of Kendra's romance novel heroines. Soldiers didn't cry, but she wasn't a soldier anymore.  
  
"You okay?" Logan's arms settled her more comfortably on his lap, her legs hanging over one of the wheels of his chair. Max nodded, wiping her face with the hem of her undershirt. "You probably don't wanna sleep, do you?"  
  
This time, Max shook her head.  
  
"There's that chess game we didn't finish last week," Logan offered, wheeling them away from the bed. "You could help me gang up on Jondy and let me win for once."  
  
Max chuckled as she leaned against his chest. This was why she loved Logan. Because he understood, and he knew when not to ask questions. Then, a robe was thrown across her lap.  
  
"So you don't get cold, baby sister. You're all sweaty and everything." Jondy wrinkled her nose. "Not that I don't like sweaty, but just not on you." Then Max realized that her sister was dressed. "Yeah, I'm gonna head out for a few hours. Tell Normal it's one of those days, kay?"  
  
Struggling into the robe, she nodded. "All you have to do is try to paw him a few times. Then he backs off your ass." Max noticed the lights were on again too. It helped, not being in the darkness. She didn't mind the darkness, but there was something that was friendlier about light. "Crash's closed, but you might check out some of the places on the waterfront. Ty's brother works at a bar there--something about Dante's Inferno."  
  
Jondy smiled slightly, her foot beginning to tap. She had all the signs of full-blown heat now, right down to the way she stood, constantly on edge. "I gotta bounce, peeps, otherwise I might try and maul Logan." With a kiss to each of them, Max watched as Jondy headed towards the door.  
  
After they heard the front door shut, Logan began wheeling them out of the room. "Chess or bed?"  
  
Max thought about that for a moment. Part of her wanted to curl up in Logan's arms for the rest of the night and let him stroke her back until she fell asleep again. Logan wasn't blind though. He'd figure out the little addition to her stomach sooner or later. She looked up at his face, the light of the hallway glinting off his glasses. At least he hadn't noticed yet. She knew he wouldn't stay quiet for long if he knew, or even suspected…  
  
"Could we just sit together for a while?" Sitting on the couch would be safe. She didn't feel like trouncing him at chess right now, and the way her mind was frazzled, she didn't feel like letting him win either. Competition was something that would never die, especially not as long as Zack's heart beat in her chest.  
  
Looking up, she saw him smile slightly as he wheeled his chair around, propelling them towards the living room. "I think there's another Red Dwarf rerun on BBC America if you want to watch that. They're up to season eight, so Rimmer's back."  
  
Max couldn't help laughing. There was something about the anal Second Technician that reminded her of Normal. They even almost had the same hairstyle. She slid out of Logan's lap, curling up on the couch. Logan maneuvered his wheelchair so that he could move his body to rest beside her. His arm settled around her shoulders, drawing her close to him. Propping her feet up on the coffee table, Max let herself relax against Logan's body with a sigh.  
  
Logan clicked the tv on with the remote and quickly flipped through the stations. Cable didn't give quite the variety it had apparently offered before the Pulse, but Max was never one for tv. She hadn't even known there were tv programs until after the Escape, and their appeal was still lost on her. But she'd make an exception for Red Dwarf. She felt a little like Lister sometimes, the only human being left in the entire smegging universe…  
  
As the familiar British accents flooded across the screen, Max's eyes began to feel heavy. There was something almost comforting about the mellow voices and a world that was as far removed from Manticore as possible.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Logan looked down about halfway through the episode, not too surprised to find Max asleep. Though he sometimes thought she tolerated his fetish for British comedies for his sake, there was a smile on her face, as if she was subconsciously enjoying Red Dwarf. Putting down the remote, he traced the soft curves of her face with his free hand. Her face hadn't changed much in the past three years. There was a haunted look to her sometimes, but her face seemed more open now, as if her emotions were easier to express. Or, he'd just gotten used to her mercurial moods.  
  
Even in sleep, her face was still tense. She would never say what she dreamed about, but he knew it had to be bad if she woke up screaming. Not that he didn't have the same kind of nightmares sometimes, cradling her body close in his arms, feeling her slip away from him again and again… There were a thousand variations involving Lydecker, Zack carrying her body away from him, a shot and a fierce pain just below his waist as his legs crumpled out from under him. But Max was here now, safe, with him. The slight weight of her body resting against his was all the reassurance he needed to know that everything was right in his world. He could touch her, feel the warmth of her skin against his. That touch meant everything, and comforted him like nothing else could.  
  
Arms tightening about her, he settled her more comfortably against his chest. Logan turned to look out the window at the darkness, wondering what was lurking there, and if he could protect Max from it, and herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You need a what?" Original Cindy gave Max a look of disbelief and shook her head. "First Sister Girl here goes and pisses off Ty cuz she done the deed with his brother last night, then you and Logan… Didn't your mama never--" She began to walk again, pushing her bike beside her on the sidewalk.  
  
Jondy shot Max an 'I told you so' look. At least her heat was over. Max just glared back at her sister. "So you don't know where to get one?"  
  
Cindy snorted. "And I'm doin' what to get myself prego? I must know, all those brother-men I sleep with." She shook her head again and began to walk faster. "You got your own problems, boo. Now you gotta fix 'em."  
  
Max stopped in her tracks. Jondy's bike bumped her in the ass when her sister didn't stop fast enough. "Shit." She kicked the side of the building, feeling a little better when she saw the dent she made in the concrete. Maybe it hadn't been the most brilliant idea to ask Original Cindy. Maybe it hadn't been the greatest idea to spend every moment of her heat with Logan. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to even let herself love Logan in the first place. She sighed. Kendra might know how to find out if she was pregnant though… Someone had to, since she couldn't exactly ask Sebastian, because Sebastian would probably tell Logan, and that would open up another bag of chips she didn't want to deal with.  
  
"Boo--" Cindy's voice lost its harsh edge. "Max, I just don't like the idea of you getting caught, aiight? You're my boo, and you always will be my boo, but it's--Max?"  
  
But her attention was already focused on something else, something gold in the window of a shop down the block. "Be right back," Max called, hopping on her bike and speeding off down the street.  
  
She dodged in and out of foot traffic easily, letting her reflexes take over as she focused on what had caught her eye. When Max got to the shop, she set her bike against the wall and glared at the few people around. They managed to get the idea. Touch her bike, and they would feel the wrath of a transgenic soldier.  
  
A little bell chimed as she pushed open the door to the shop. "Can I help you, Miss?" A voice said from behind the counter.  
  
Max pointed to the gold ring in the window. "I'd like to look at that," she said, turning the full power of her smile on the old man.  
  
The old man smiled back. "Looking for wedding bands?" He pointed to the ring on her finger. She'd almost forgotten she was wearing it, she was so used to its weight. He moved to the case in the window, unlocking it with a key he wore around his wrist. "This one is the finest 24 karat gold, something I traded for quite a few years ago." He held it out to her. "It's the best engraving job I've seen in a very long time."  
  
She took the ring between her fingers, magnifying the engraving. The cross- hatch pattern was actually a series of x's etched into the soft gold metal. There were five different sets that wrapped themselves around the thick band. "If I wanted something engraved on the inside--how much?" It was worth at least 5, easily. She had that money for her new tranny stashed, and the overhaul she wanted to do on her baby. But this…five sets of X's. It was as if someone had made this ring for her.  
  
"When are you getting married?" the jeweler asked. Out of the corner of her eye, Max noticed how hard he studied her. The man was probably worried she'd take off with the ring--which she was tempted to do, but then Logan would ask questions, and it really wasn't worth the hassle.  
  
"We were thinking next Christmas. Logan proposed to me last Christmas. Something about continuity." She shrugged. The thought of a public demonstration still scared the shit out of her, but for Logan… Through passion, through sorrow and hope, through death and through life. There had been enough death and sorrow. It was time to live.  
  
"And you love him?" The old man squinted at her. But that was kind of a duh question. There had never been any question about loving Logan, not after her second time at Manticore. The biggest obstacle had always been what to do about it. How could she not love Logan? As sappy as it was, he'd saved her and given her a soul, just like that fairytale about the little mermaid that always made him cry.  
  
"Yeah," Max answered. That was all she needed to say.  
  
The jeweler was quiet for a while, a thoughtful look on his face. "For you, 400. Times are hard, and everyone needs a break when they can get one." The man smiled.  
  
Four hundred. That wouldn't cut too much into her overhaul money, plus that bonus that Normal still owed her for training Jondy, and if Jondy and Cindy covered her for the rent… "I can put fifty down now, and bring the rest tonight." Max held the ring up to the light again, imagining how it would look on Logan's finger. With her other hand, she fumbled in her pocket for the cash she was going to use for groceries.  
  
"Max?" The shop bell chimed again as Original Cindy and Jondy stepped through the door. Jondy's fingers turned her hand towards the light. "Max, it's beautiful."  
  
"How much cash do you got?" Max laid every scrap of change from her pockets down on the counter. Cindy and Jondy both began emptying their pockets. With a quick count, Max pushed the crumpled heap towards the jeweler. "Will $147.23 do for a down payment?"  
  
The man seemed to look at all three of them for a very long time. "What did you want engraved on the inside?" he finally asked.  
  
Max handed him back the ring, and scribbled the short sentence down on a scrap of paper that was lying on the counter. As she passed it to the jeweler, he nodded with satisfaction. "Forever heart, light, my partner," he read. The old man smiled. "I can have this done this evening, if you'll just write down your name and phone number…" With another scribble to the bottom of the paper, Max slid it back across the counter. The jeweler noted the amount of down-payment on the scrap and rubber-banded it to the wad of bills. He put the ring into a small plastic bag and taped it to the paper. "Tonight after 6, Miss Guevara. Do you need it resized as well?"  
  
Max squinted at the ring inside the plastic bag. "If you could widen it about two millimeters, it should fit Logan's finger." Cindy and Jondy gave her an odd look. "What?"  
  
"You owe us," Jondy said as they walked out of the shop. Three bikes were still propped up against the side of the building. "You owe us big."  
  
"I owe you 60 bucks, big sister. You'll get it back when we get home. You know where I keep my stash." Max straddled her bike again, looking back over her shoulder at her friends. "Besides, if I'm in the family way, I might as well do right by the baby…" Now she just had to decide what she was gonna tell Logan…and what they'd do about their latest complication.  
  
"I dunno, boo. I don't think you got nothin' to worry about." Cindy said as they moved off into traffic again. "There's hope for you and Wheels yet."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Logan looked at the clock, drumming his fingers against the kitchen counter. Just after 6. Max usually called by now if she was going to be late. If she was able to call. If she was--  
  
He grabbed for the phone and quickly dialed her number.  
  
"Yeah?" Cindy's voice answered.  
  
"Hey, Cindy, it's Logan. Is Max home?" He could hear muffled talking from the other end, as if someone was shouting in their apartment. "Cindy?"  
  
"It's blue? Wait, is blue the good one or the bad one? I--Sorry, Logan, Original Cindy and her homegirls are just gonna chill here tonight. Do that girl thang. And since you lack the necessary equipment, you ain't invited, aiight?" Even though it sounded like Cindy had the receiver muffled, he could still hear some commotion going on in the background.  
  
"Are you sure everything's okay?" Max wasn't usually secretive. But if this was a girl thing, then maybe he didn't want to get involved. As experienced as he was in the ways of women, Logan still recognized the fact that he had far to go before he understood them.  
  
"Everything's fine, Logan." Jondy's voice came on the line, as if she'd grabbed the phone from Original Cindy. "Maxie and I are just gonna hang at home tonight. Sister stuff. And unless you really want a manicure, you probably should just watch that Wings marathon on Discovery tonight."  
  
Again, there were the sounds of muffled conversation in the background. "Can I talk to Max?" He was trying to be patient, but there was something big that they weren't telling him…  
  
Again, the phone was passed, but this time, the voice he wanted spoke. "It's cool, Logan. We're just gonna chill here, maybe head down to Crash or something." Max's voice wasn't as calm as it usually was. It seemed almost rushed, like couldn't decide if she was worried, or excited. "I got something for you today." That was more like the Max he knew.  
  
"Is it flowers? I like jewelry too." Logan could hear Max's laughter echo over the phone wires. If she could laugh, then whatever was going on couldn't be that bad.  
  
"Since when do you wear jewelry?" Max asked, continuing the line of the joke. "You'll see what your present is. Maybe tomorrow." Again, he heard a conversation of whispers. "Gotta bounce. The girls are getting restless." Her voice grew soft. "Love you."  
  
"Love you too." He'd never tell her how much those words meant to him, or how many times he kicked himself for not letting her say those words that night at Manticore. She said them a lot--and he said them more--but he still felt the strangest sense of joy whenever he heard them.  
  
And then there was silence on the other end. He was still staring at the phone in his hand when it rang again. "So is blue the good one or the bad one?" Logan asked without prompt.  
  
"Logan?" Except that the voice on the other end wasn't Max's. The voice was that of a very confused male. "It's Bennett. Are you okay?" His cousin's voice sounded worried.  
  
"I'm fine. It's just--" There was no way of explaining it to Bennett, even if Logan did leave out the part about transgenic soldiers and vigilante cyber journalism. "How's Marianne? I haven't heard from a Cale since Christmas. I was beginning to think I'd been disowned."  
  
Bennett laughed. "Mother was tempted, but then she realized she'd have no leverage. Marianne's class is back in session, and apparently they're demons. My brother's back in town, so we were wondering if you'd like to have dinner next week."  
  
"Which brother?" If it was Robert, he could deal. But if it was Jordan… Jordan was entirely too much like Max's brother Tawny for his taste.  
  
"Robert. Jordan's in New Orleans. Said he met up with a guy named Tony, and they're plotting to screw the entire town." Birds of a feather, even enhanced birds, seemed to find each other, no matter what. "Mother won't be there, if that's what you're worried about."  
  
Logan drummed his fingers against the desk again, looking at the recent picture of Jondy and Max that sat next to one of his monitors. "Let me run it by the girls. Jondy took up residence, and Max still hates anyone with the last name Cale." Aunt Margot would be dead if Max heard what his aunt had said. Not that the world wouldn't be a better place because of that.  
  
Bennett was quiet for a moment. "Marianne told me what Mother said, and I apologize profusely for it, Logan. I know she can be difficult sometimes and--"  
  
"It's okay, Bennett. I'll get over it. And so will Max." Logan took the picture in his hand, tracing the lines of Max's body with his finger. The two girls stood with their Jam Pony bikes, grinning at the camera, looking like normal girls making a living. Max's arm hung around Jondy's neck, the ring on her finger sparkling in the rare Seattle sunlight. "I'll talk to the girls and see what they say."  
  
There was a sigh of relief on the other end. "Thanks, Logan. You're a far better man than any other Cale."  
  
After he hung up with Bennett, Logan resisted the urge to hurl the phone against the wall. The last time Max did that, it took him three weeks to replace it. At least some of his articles were starting to pay off. His syndicated column paid for groceries, so he could use what was left of his art collection to fund Eyes Only. That money that he'd invested was making a tidy little profit too. He couldn't fling money around the way he used to, and it had taken him months to save up for Max's ring, but he was comfortable again, and secure--for now.  
  
Families. With a sigh, Logan turned off the Mac and rolled towards the kitchen. It was quiet in the apartment without his girls. He wondered what it would sound like, always filled with Max and her friends. Even children in the two bedrooms down the hall… "You're turning into a sap in your old age, Cale." His voice broke the silence, echoing through the empty apartment. Silence had been all he wanted, growing up. Now, when he had it, all he could think of was filling it. Silence just felt heavy, like those first months after Manticore. He hadn't realized how much Max filled his life til then. "Dinner, Cale. Eat, then brood. And then turn on the tv, so that you stop talking to yourself." And with a chuckle, he wheeled himself towards the fridge, to see if Max and Jondy had left any food.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was 3 am when Max's pager went off. "Maxie, it's for you," Jondy muttered, rolling over and burying her head under the pillow. No matter what she did, or how often she did it, for the first couple days after her heat, she was always completely exhausted. At least Ty's brother Andy had taken the edge off things. Didn't hurt that he was decently looking either. She hadn't meant to call him Zack, though…  
  
The mattress dipped as her sister got up. Even under the pillow, Jondy could hear Max rummaging for her pager. "It's the other one, Jondy."  
  
She sighed, pushing the pillow back from her face. "What other one, Max?" The look on Max's face was worried.  
  
"The Iother/I one." The other one. The pager for the contact number. Without a second thought, Jondy slid out of bed and began rummaging for a pair of pants.  
  
Max fumbled for the phone and dialed a string of numbers. Jondy wasn't surprised to see Zack's commander look wash over her baby sister's face. It was in the genes after all. And in Max's heart. "Well?"  
  
Her sister held the phone out to her and hit the speaker phone button. A male voice came on the line. "Hey, vixen. I jaced my way out of working late tonight in Bellingham, so if you wanna get together, gimme a ring. 555-5656."  
  
"Jace, huh? Our senorita sistah's gonna have some company." Jondy put the phone back on its cradle. "So you gonna call this guy to see if he's legit?"  
  
Max nodded as she dialed a number. "I'll get Logan to check it, in case it's a hot wire or something. Hey, Logan. Code red, white, and green. Yeah, with a little eagle-thing on it. Can you give him a call and tell him to meet at the High Place?." There was a pause. "Yeah, I'll take Jondy." Even in the dark, Jondy could see a scowl on Max's face. "She's got my back. I'll be fine. You can call Syl and Krit if you want. Yeah, you too." Putting down the phone, Max began to rummage in one of her drawers. When she pulled out the black catsuit, Jondy knew her sister meant business. "If Victor called from Bellingham, it won't take him too long to get here."  
  
Jondy sighed. "Viva la Mexico."  
  
"Boo?" Original Cindy's voice came from beyond the curtain. "Y'all up early."  
  
"Family emergency," Max called, picking up the phone again and dialing another number.  
  
The lights flickered on, and Original Cindy walked into the main room, sitting down at the kitchen table with a yawn. Jondy tried not to snicker at the fuzzy white bunny slippers Cindy wore on her feet. "It look like big trouble if you breakin' out the catsuit, boo."  
  
"It's Jace." Max held up a spare black leather vest. "You want it, Jondy?" Her sister looked over her not so professional outfit of faded black cargo pants and a black long-sleeved shirt that she was in the process of pulling over her head. "I've got a spare suit that might fit you if you rolled the legs up."  
  
Jondy rolled her eyes. She was not going into full-out camo gear. That was fine for cat burglars like Max and people who still clung to their soldier roots. Besides, spandex always made her break out into a rash… "I'll take the vest, baby sister."  
  
She watched as Max began to slide into the skin-tight suit. The suit fit fine over the hips and into the shoulders, but Jondy could see the look of panic that washed over her sister's face as Max zipped up over her rounded stomach. The black spandex only emphasized the not-so-obvious. "Shit," her sister whispered, looking down at the small bulge as if it was some alien creation. Or as if the reality of the dealio had finally sunk in.  
  
"Overalls, Maxie. Or maybe those camos that were stashed here after--" Jondy cut herself off, walking over and putting an arm around Max. Big brother and family protector or not, Max was still her little sister. "Black leggings and a shirt are a lot lighter than leather and spandex. It's warm down south."  
  
Max looked down at her stomach again, trying to hide the look of betrayal on her face. "Dammit. If something happens…" Her face hardened. "Lydecker never covered this."  
  
Jondy laughed. "The Colonel forgot to cover a lot of key information. Besides, Max, I think Logan would notice your addition in the catsuit…"  
  
The phone rang, and Max immediately reached for it. "Yeah? He's on his way? Thanks, Logan." Her voice dropped, but Jondy could still overhear her sister's end of the conversation with no problem. "I'll make sure he checks out. Yeah, Jondy's always got my back. Meetcha at the safehouse. Love you." As Max hung up, there was an odd look on her face.  
  
"Max." Jondy and Max both turned at the sound of Original Cindy's voice. In her hands, she cradled a handgun. "I know you girls don't like packin' heat, but still… You got a baby to protect now, and Original Cindy gonna put a smackdown on your ass if you end up dead."  
  
Max looked from the gun to Cindy's face. So little sister hadn't lost her fear of guns. Jondy was glad she wasn't alone. It was bad enough that years of live ordnance drills make her skittish when it came to any loud noises. But after seeing their sister Eva shot inches from their faces the night of the escape, Jondy wondered how any of them could pick up a gun again. Especially Max.  
  
"Boo, please. Just keep it on your bike. Just let me know you have it." Original Cindy's face softened. "Please," she said again.  
  
Olders were supposed to be examples for youngers, Zack had once said when they were still too small for the barracks. Jondy reached out and took the small handgun, sticking it into the side pocket of her cargo pants. It didn't look too obvious, with the way her pants bagged around her legs. "I've got your back, Maxie."  
  
Her little sister nodded, a relieved look on her face. "Ready?"  
  
Jeans and a black shirt later, she and Max were wheeling their motorcycles down the hallway to the elevator. "The High Place?" Jondy jammed her goggles over her eyes.  
  
Max nodded. "The High Place. You'll know Victor when you see him."  
  
As they separated and rode off, Jondy couldn't help feeling like the storm was brewing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The park underneath the Space Needle was deserted, but Max knew that Victor would come. If it was a set-up, at least she had Jondy for backup. And Logan knew where she was. It felt weird to be in jeans instead of spandex. It felt even more odd to be pulling this kinda stuff without Alec. Not that she minded her sister as a partner instead of an X-5 that still had a tendency to pollute her air. Maybe it was the fact that she felt unprofessional and kind of frumpy. But you took what you could get. And it wasn't the catsuit's fault that she had something growing in her stomach. What kind of a mother brought her unborn child into battle? With a look at Jondy beside her, Max knew the answer to that.  
  
"Why does this feel like something out of Shadowrun?" Jondy's voice was barely even a whisper, but Max had no problem hearing it. Seeing Max's blank look, she shook her head. "Nevmind. So how do you know this guy'll show?"  
  
"Victor got transferred like all the other lab techs after the fire, but he's still military. He's got friends the same way we have friends, and he said he'd give me a head's up if he knew they were after Jace or the rest of us." Victor still didn't know about his son. After Manticore burned, Max didn't want to give too much away. He was careful never to contact Jace, just because he knew the kind of deep shit it could get him in. And Max still saw Tinga's face at night, the way she'd looked before she turned herself over to Lydecker in order to save her son. "If he ever needed me, I told him to meet me at the High Place in Seattle. He should figure it out."  
  
"Could you still get there? To the High Place?" Jondy leaned against her, and Max noticed that one of her sister's hands kept feeling the pocket where the gun was.  
  
"After us, the grunts finally got smart." Max scanned the area again. "Guards patrol the roof every night. We were locked in at Lights Out, even the kids, and our old drainpipe was taken out."  
  
The first time she'd seen what they did to the High Place, it was like her final link to Manticore was broken. The High Place had always belonged to the X-5s, and Manticore desecrated it after the escape. Max almost thought that it was good that Ben was dead, because the destruction of their secret place would've killed him. Prophet Benjamin, born to the wrong time and the wrong place. They all wanted something to believe in, and as twisted as Max now found those childish beliefs, it still hurt to see them destroyed. "I had guard duty up there once before they transferred us all to Washington. It was like Renfro was trying to taunt me or some shit." She shook her head. It had been so tempting, just to step over the edge and fall to oblivion. But that was what the bitch had wanted, to break her. And letting Manticore win just wasn't an option.  
  
"Is that him?" Jondy nodded towards the dark figure that approached them. In the darkness, Max could make out the sharp planes of his face, and the familiar way that his hair hung over his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, that's Victor."  
  
Jondy flashed a quick signal and faded back into the shadows. Max gave a slight nod, and then began to approach Victor. If this was a trap, at least she knew Jondy had her back.  
  
"Waiting long?" Victor gave her a half-grin as he stepped into the puddle of light. He looked the same as he had three years ago--brown hair still falling in his face, hazel eyes peering out at her. He wasn't bad-looking, but compared to her brothers and Logan, Victor Sanchez would never be anything more than average. But Jace had fallen for him in a moment of heat, and neither was sure of the exact nature of the emotion that still bound them to each other.  
  
"Not too long." She went into his open arms, looking for all the world like she was giving him a hug. His body felt clean as he leaned up against her, her hands making a quick sweep over his back and pockets.  
  
"Frisky tonight, huh, baby?" Victor whispered in her ear with a grin.  
  
Max ran one hand over his chest, tracing her way up his neck and across his cheek. "I'm always feelin' ready around you, hot man." She cupped his cheek in her hand, motioning to Jondy with her other behind his back. It was clear. No implants in his ears that she could see, no bugs. It still smelled slightly of set-up, but as far as Victor knew, he was clean. "Come back to my place?"  
  
When Victor smiled, his face brightened until Max could see the man her sister was so attracted to. "I've been waiting to hear those words the entire ride out here, baby."  
  
Max led Victor to her motorcycle and handed him her spare helmet. Jondy still hung back, wheeling her baby towards the opposite end of the park. Her sister flashed a quick sign, signaling that she'd meet them at the safe house. So far, so good…  
  
The ride to the safehouse passed quickly. Max kept to the back streets where she knew Sector Police wouldn't bother her. Yeah, it was past curfew, but it wasn't like she didn't violate it all the time. It was sheer luck that the Sector Police didn't know her by name yet--or sheer genetics that they just never caught up with her.  
  
Victor didn't say a word as they rode through the city. Max couldn't help worrying. Victor wasn't one to pay social calls. He checked in with her once a year or so, just to tell her he was still alive and to hear any news from Jace. She felt bad enough telling him that much--that she knew where Jace was, and that her sister was still alive. Zack would've reamed her a new asshole for giving out that much information to the enemy. She was more careless than her brother, but she couldn't help it. They were family. And she wasn't Zack, as hard as she tried to be.  
  
The safehouse was just an old hotel in what used to be a decent part of town. It wasn't a good place, but it wasn't a bad place. It was just kind of…there, which made it the perfect place to stash anything you didn't want found. Max stowed her motorcycle in the shed behind the three-story building, noticing that another bike was already parked there. Jondy'd cheated again. Either that, or now Logan was telling her big sister all the shortcuts and back-alleys in Seattle.  
  
"Hey, Missy. Your man's upstairs waiting." Mrs. Forsyth waved at Max from behind the desk. "Food's waiting too. Your sister was hungry."  
  
Max couldn't help grinning as she passed the older woman. "Thanks!" It still surprised her, to find people who genuinely cared left in the world. Mrs. Forsyth had been a social worker, Pre-Pulse. Now, she was just another ordinary superhero, trying to make life the way it used to be, one person at a time.  
  
"Friends?" Victor asked, carefully in step with her down the hallway and up the stairs.  
  
"Yeah, you could say that." Max stopped at room 42 and knocked carefully.  
  
"Shave and a haircut--" a voice sang as the door opened. Jondy's blue eyes grinned. "What took ya so long, baby sister?"  
  
"Victor, my fellow inmate Jondy. Jondy, Victor."  
  
Victor nodded as he shut the door behind them. "Don't hate me because I'm Manticore," he quipped with a nervous grin. He nodded towards Logan, who sat on the bed. "You must be the Professor."  
  
For some reason, Logan chuckled. "Just as long as I don't have to be Gilligan. I would like to get off the island eventually…" His eyes met hers and he gave her a smile that was meant for her alone.  
  
Max could feel her insides melt even as her throat began to close up. She had to tell him…he had every right to know about a child that was half his. But Victor and Jace…and if Manticore really was after her family again… Instead of sitting beside Logan, Max flopped down next to Jondy, trying to ignore the hurt look that washed over Logan's face.  
  
"So Manticore's back?" Jondy's light voice broke the silence. Her sister's hand found hers.  
  
Again, Victor gave a slow nod. "We were recalled about a week ago, just a few lab techs and doctors."  
  
"OB-GYNs?" Max shot Logan a curious look, but he focused his attention on Victor. "One of Eyes Only's informants showed me a report that someone sent him."  
  
"They're getting ready to reproduce again. But all the funding dried up after the fire, I'd thought, and all the mistakes hightailed it to freedom." Jondy scowled, her fists clenching. Max rubbed her sister's hand between both of hers, trying to ease the tension. If Manticore was brewing up soldiers again…  
  
"They aren't starting over from scratch. Rumor has it that they don't want to take the time to develop a new X-generation on their own. They're looking for the son of X-5656 and a couple other X-offspring that they've heard about." Victor ran a hand through his hair. "I saw the list of targets, and Jace's number was on it." He turned an accusing look towards Max. "Unless there's something you never told me, I don't know why she should be on that list."  
  
Two other pairs of eyes focused on Max as the room suddenly seemed too small. "You didn't tell him?" Logan's voice was incredulous. They operated on a don't ask, don't tell policy when it came to her family, just because they both agreed it would be safer. But maybe Logan had always assumed that her brother-in-law knew about his son…  
  
Logan fumbled in his pocket for his wallet, something he usually never brought with him to the safehouse. He flipped through the pictures quickly before Max realized what he was going to do. "Logan--" But it was too late.  
  
Victor stared at the picture that Logan held out. "Shit," he muttered, a blank look on his face. "Shit. Shit." He shook his head. "That's why she left. That's why she left the fucking base, because she knew--" With a shaking hand, he gave the picture back to Logan. "I guess I should assume that the kid's mine, huh?" His voice sounded dazed.  
  
"Congratulations," Max said softly. "It's a boy." Sneaking a look at Logan's face, Max noticed an odd swarm of emotions playing in his eyes. The Great Eyes Only seemed torn between sympathy for a man kept in the dark and fear of what this latest development meant for the world. Charlie and Case were still in Canada, so Max wasn't too worried about their safety. Charlie hadn't set foot in the United States in two years. And he still joked about the fact that it was hard to trace anyone with the last name Smith, since most people didn't believe it was his actual name in the first place…  
  
"They know where she is?" Max reached out to touch Victor's hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but this was my sister's life at stake--all our lives. And if they get to her before we do…"  
  
"They don't know. They know you helped, since you're still on a wanted poster in the main offices, but they don't know…" Victor trailed off, his eyes on his hands. "Fuck. They didn't tell me…"  
  
"They didn't tell you because they knew you wouldn't do it if you knew your son was involved," Jondy finally said. Victor's eyes met Jondy's in a panic, but Max's sister only smiled slightly. "It's not like we don't know what Manticore's capable of, Victor. They're too stupid to change their tactics, and they taught us everything they know."  
  
Victor turned to look first at Max, and then at Logan. From the panicked look on his face, Max knew that her sister had guessed right.  
  
"Viva la Mexico," Logan said softly. Max looked up and noticed him giving her an odd look. Her arms automatically crossed over her stomach, as if her own flesh could shield their baby from the evils of the world. And the world was about to get a little more evil… Logan gave her a gentle smile. "Guess we call in the cavalry now." 


	4. Through Heaven and Hell

Even Though It's Painful, Always  
  
Chapter Four: Through Heaven and Hell  
  
Here we are now, going to the east side  
  
I pick up my friends and we start to ride  
  
Ride all night, we ride all day  
  
Some may come and some may stay  
  
Here we are now going to the west side  
  
Weapons in hand as we go for a ride  
  
Some may come and some may stay  
  
Watching out for a sunny day  
  
Here we are now going to the south side  
  
I pick up my friends and we hope we won't die  
  
Ride at night, ride through heaven and hell  
  
Come back and feel so well  
  
--Mobius and Gwen Stefani, "South Side"  
  
A/N: Have I apologized for dragging this fic out? Gahhh, this is way too long. If you can think of scenes that need to be cut, or where this fic drags, let me know. This is my baby, so I'm incapable of judging it in an unbiased fashion. *g* "Before the Night is Over" is off Gaelic Storm's latest album, Tree. The album kicks ass. I suggest you go out and buy it. ;)  
  
Special thanks to Laura, my wonderful beta. :)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Can I speak with Father Alexander please?" Max's voice sounded annoyed. Logan noticed her shoving clothes into a backpack with more force than was really necessary. "Father Alexander. Alexander. Like the Great. It's his sister. And no, I won't hold." She sighed, kicking the backpack across the bedroom. It bounced off the dresser, landing on a heap of clothes next to the bed.  
  
Logan chuckled as he went over his own supplies. Since the last raid, Syl had helped him stock up on all the necessities--ammo, extension guns, firearms, and his trusty hacker's kit. An upgrade to his laptop had been financed by hocking a statue of Isis that the art dealer swore came from the heart of Giza. Logan had his doubts.  
  
"Father Alexander. Yes, this is the right church. St. Ignatius Loyola, right? Then let me speak with my brother. No, not Brother. My brother. Like my sibling. Father Alexander. Tell him it's Max. He'll take the call. Fine, put me on hold!"  
  
There was a sound of plastic slowly being crushed. Logan wheeled over to where Max was crouched on the floor, running a finger along the back of her neck. "Easy, Max, it's just the phone. Don't take it out on the phone. We don't have a spare," he joked, giving her a smile. She looked up at him with a glare and batted his hand away. Before she stalked out of the room, she turned and gave him an apologetic look and quick kiss. If Logan didn't know better, he'd swear that his transgenic angel was PMSing. Maybe she didn't bleed once a month like most women, but she still got pissy like one…  
  
"Father Alexander. A-L-E-X--Lex? Is that you? Yeah, it's baby sister. Our señorita sister this time. The chimera always raises its ugly-ass head." Max was quiet for a moment as she stood in the doorway, one arm wrapped around her waist. She'd stood that way a lot in the past few hours, making her phone calls to what was left of the X-5 Freedom Force. "We'll bounce through LA probably tomorrow morning. You coming with? Yeah, it's cool. It's not your fight, big brother. Yeah, I hope he watches over you too." She slammed the phone against the door.  
  
The satisfying crunch of plastic against the hard wood brought Jondy running down the hall. She looked from Max to Logan and then smiled slightly. "I guess Lex isn't coming to the party."  
  
Wheeling over, Logan tugged at Max's hand. Without turning around, she fell back into his lap, automatically curling up so that her legs hung over one wheel, her head resting against his chest. "He said it wasn't God's will. Why let some fucking dead guy decide your life? Like some old man in the clouds really gives a shit about us." Dark eyes downcast, Max's face crumpled slightly. "And I still can't get a hold of Jace. Alec isn't answering his cell. Syl and Krit won't be here until tonight, and I just have this feeling…"  
  
Logan tightened his arms around her. "It'll be okay, Max. We'll get through this." He kissed the back of her neck. Sometimes she found Zack's shoes a little hard to fill. He didn't blame her. As anal as the guy had been, Zack was good at protecting all of his siblings, once he got it into his head to let them live their own lives…  
  
"What if you send Zane down to check on Jace, Maxie? He's in New Mexico on his enlightenment quest anyway," Jondy offered, leaning up against the doorway. "That way, we can meet him down in San Diego if Tawny manages to fly his lazy ass out of New Orleans."  
  
Max's dark eyes met his, lines creasing her forehead as she thought it out. "I'll call Zane if you wanna try Tawny again."  
  
Jondy laughed. "You're as sadistic as the Colonel, baby sister. For you, this once, I'll call the brothels of New Orleans looking for Big Brother. Madame Jez hadn't heard from him in a week as of an hour ago." She snorted. "Guess Deck never figured our superior genes would kick STD ass, huh?"  
  
"There should be another phone in the office, MacDuff. If not, I think the wall phone in the kitchen still works," Logan offered as the brunette walked out the door. Reaching around the woman in his lap and into the pocket of his shirt, he held out his cell phone to Max. "For you, milady," he said, kissing the side of her neck. "Only if you promise not to drop kick it across the room."  
  
"I could drop kick your ass instead," she muttered. "Or I could let Jondy do it." There was a thoughtful look on her face. "Or--"  
  
He flipped open the phone and began dialing Zane's number.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Room 246 please." Jondy resisted the desire to kick the wall again. There was already a series of black smudges about eight inches off the floor. They were too small for Bling's feet, so she didn't have any doubt about who'd created them. Civilization had tamed her little sister a bit. At Manticore, Max would've probably kicked the wall down, wrath of the Colonel be damned.  
  
Tawny wasn't at the Sultan's Hideaway, or at any of the five other nookie motels he said he might stay at in New Orleans. This was the last number on her list, some Old Money hotel on Bourbon Street that Tawny's newest fuck buddy lived at.  
  
"Lap of Luxury, how can I pleasure you?" an oddly familiar voice purred into the phone.  
  
Jondy resisted the urge to hurl. It would surprise her if Tawny was running a phone sex ring out of some hotel. It would be one of the more normal things he'd chosen to occupy his time. "I'm looking for my brother. He said this was one of the places he might be staying. Is Tony there?"  
  
The man's voice chuckled. "Golden Tony's in the middle of two women right now. Can I take a message? What are you wearing?"  
  
"Tell Big Brother that his little sister's gonna kick his ass if he doesn't come to the phone, just like I did at Capture the Flag." She looked down at her faded sweats and tank-top. The man's voice was sexy as hell, even if he did seem like a nymphomaniac ass. "And I can tell you what I'm not wearing…"  
  
There was a pause. Over the phone wires, Jondy could hear what sounded like footsteps, and a muffled knock on a door. Moments later, the voice said, "He said that Capture the Flag doesn't count, because the Colonel always liked you better." The man actually sounded almost apologetic this time. "I'm sorry, Tony's little sister, but--"  
  
"Tell him our father's back in town and wants to see Jace," Jondy cut in. "I'm not wearing a bra, and I might tell you what color underwear I'm wearing if you get him on the phone."  
  
This time, there was a soft thud as the phone hit something soft. Max walked into the kitchen, giving her an odd look. Jondy shook her head. Some things weren't worth the explanation.  
  
"This better be good, little sister." Tawny's voice was breathless. "If it's anything short of Deck's resurrection…"  
  
"How about the family business up and operational again? That good enough?" She twisted the phone cord around her fingers. "A friend of Maxie's brought the news. Apparently, they want something of his south of the border."  
  
"Shit." Jondy didn't want to know what the muffled noises were. "Hey, Jor, I need to bail. You know anyone with a plane?" The vaguely familiar voice spoke again before Tawny came back on the line. "You guys going in through San Diego? I could fly in sometime tomorrow night."  
  
Jondy signaled to Max, who nodded. "Maxie says that works. We're leaving as soon as the cavalry arrives. Biggest Brother went down to check on Hermana and her niño."  
  
"This has to be it, baby sister. This is the last time. If we don't break them…" Tawny's voice trailed off. "Oh, and Jor wants to know what color."  
  
Max gave her an odd look as she choked. "White with little blue flowers," Jondy answered in her calmest voice. "Tomorrow night? We'll bust ass getting down there."  
  
"Affirmative, little sister. Meetcha at your old High Place. Peace." And she heard a dial tone.  
  
"You owe me, Maxie." Jondy poked her little sister in the shoulder. "You owe me big."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Around noon, there was a knock at the door. "It's open, Bling." Logan called from where he was making final preparations with his laptop. "Did Sebastian okay the exoskeleton?"  
  
But the two who walked in weren't a physical trainer and a former military lab tech. "Here to check on Max, Cindy? She's in the bedroom asleep." Max's roommate only glared at the man behind her.  
  
"See, Normal, Original Cindy spoke the word. Can you pick your tighty- whiteys out of your butt now?"  
  
Normal looked around suspiciously. Logan noticed a can of Lysol clutched in one of the man's hands. "I want to see her. If she's sick, then I won't fire her firetrucking little--"  
  
Max chose that moment to walk out of the bathroom, looking pale. Her eyes were still half-shut, and she looked worse than Logan had seen her in a long time. He wasn't too surprised when she'd fallen asleep about an hour ago. Both Max and Jondy were working their hair-trigger nerves overtime.  
  
Oblivious to the two who still stood in the doorway, Max slipped into Logan's lap, leaning against him. "I just horked," she said, smelling strongly of mouthwash and toothpaste. "I haven't horked like that since I was eight years old, and the flu vaccine sent me to the infirmary for three days." There were shadows under her eyes. "I don't wanna be Big Brother any more. Zane can take over."  
  
Logan noticed Original Cindy giving Normal a pointed look. "Okay, maybe she is sick," the older man muttered. At the sound of Normal's voice, Max slid from Logan's lap, automatically crouching at his feet.  
  
"Fella fella here wanted to make sure you was really sick, boo." Original Cindy raised her hand, holding it threateningly at the base of Normal's skull. "Now that sense has been smacked into his pointy little head…"  
  
One hand in front of his face, Normal edged towards them, holding out a bag of capsules. "Multi-vitamins. Take two every morning. Get your immune system back in shape, young lady." When he got within a foot, he flung them in Max's direction. She caught the bag neatly, staring at it, and then at her boss. "What?" Normal gave her a defensive look. "I can't be nice? Bip bip bip, Missy! Get back to work as soon as you can."  
  
Max looked from the bag to her boss. Logan could almost hear the wheels turning in her brain. "I think I'm gonna go hurl again," she muttered, running off towards the bathroom.  
  
"Stop sniffing gasoline! Then you wouldn't be in so much firetrucking trouble all the time!" Normal called after her as she raced by, one hand over her mouth. "Congratulations, Mr. Cale. You found a winner in that girl. Don't say I didn't warn you." Though there was a dark look on his face, Logan thought Normal actually sounded sincere. "If you schedule your wedding around a holiday, I might even manage to give her a week off for your honeymoon."  
  
Before Logan could be too impressed with Normal's begrudging generosity, Jondy poked her head in from the office. "Don't you have anything heavier than a 9 mm, Logan?" She held up the pistol with distaste. "Syl's bringing more explosives with her, but she can't get her hands on as much fire power as last time. I know that Maxie won't take one, and I won't either, but Krit and Syl like to be armed for this kinda shit."  
  
There was a thump as Normal's body hit the hardwood floor. Jondy walked out, one hand holding the handgun as far away from her body as possible. "Guess he didn't buy the Max being sick story, huh?" She nudged the inert body with her toe. Cindy gave Normal's body a gentle kick. "Bip bip bip, moron. That's Latin for get your skinny ass off the floor."  
  
Normal's eyes fluttered open. Logan saw him look from Original Cindy to the gun that Jondy still held. He stood slowly, one hand covering his face. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know. If there are aliens involved, or if you're performing amateur brain surgery again, just don't tell me. Come back to work when your covert operations are over, and we'll forget it all happened." Logan thought he heard the man whimper, but he couldn't be too sure. Normal edged his way to the door, carefully keeping Original Cindy in front of him. As he reached behind himself to turn the doorknob, he hollered off down the hall, "Remember to take your vitamins!"  
  
Max walked back in as Original Cindy was heading out the door. "You come home before you leave, boo." She walked over, giving Max a quick hug. Then Cindy shot Jondy a pointed look. "And you take care of her. I ain't bustin' in to no jail again to save my boo. Original Cindy put a smackdown on all your asses with her stick, aiight?"  
  
Jondy laid the gun on a nearby table before she walked over to Max, putting one hand on her sister's shoulder. "You okay, baby sister? You look kinda green."  
  
Max shook her head, giving Logan a look that he couldn't decipher. "It's just nerves. I hate this shit. I hate it," she repeated, chewing on her lip. Logan knew from experience that there was no point in offering her comfort when she was this worked up. If she needed him, she would come to him. All he had to do was wait, and that was the hardest part of all.  
  
"Hey, Max, was that your neurotic boss spraying Lysol in the elevator?" Bling opened the door with one hand, carefully carrying the exoskeleton. Victor walked a step behind him, eyes wide as he looked around.  
  
"He checks out?" Logan nodded towards the lab technician.  
  
Bling nodded. "Sebastian did a full scan. No bugs, no tracers. Gave him a sodium penth test too. The man's telling the truth."  
  
"The suit?" Max moved to stand behind Logan. He reached up, catching one of her hands in his. She squeezed it gently, leaning down to wrap her arms around his shoulders.  
  
"Checked out too. I've got a kit of spare parts that Sebastian said you might need. He said to take the hacking kit, and that Zane would know what to do if the servomotors malfunctioned." Bling set the suit down. "Don't forget to call your cousin back too. While you were out getting breakfast this morning, he called again, wondering about dinner." "Shit." Bennett had completely slipped his mind. Logan turned his head to look at Max behind him. "Robert's in town. Bennett wanted to meet for dinner without Aunt Margot. I could fix dinner here, and you could have another attack before the dessert course. That way we can keep an eye on the phone and be ready to leave when Krit and Syl get here."  
  
Max turned to Jondy. The two looked at each other for a moment in that infuriating way they had. At times like this, Logan didn't wonder at the existence of telepathy in the X-5s. "That works, big brother," Jondy finally said. "I'd keep the cuisine light--carbs and shit, since a heavy meal before a mission'll just sit in your stomach." She nodded towards Victor, who was staring what was left of Logan's entertainment system in the living room. "What do we do about him?"  
  
Max smiled slightly. "Jondy, didn't you ever meet our brother-in-law?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The intercom buzzed promptly at five. "Cale, party of three." Bennett's voice sounded staticky over the crackling speakers. Max looked at Logan as he settled into his wheelchair, unlocking the brakes. He nodded, and she hit the intercom.  
  
"Open sesame. You know the way."  
  
"Thanks, Max."  
  
Victor brushed his hair out of his eyes nervously. "I can go back to the safehouse for a few hours. It's okay. There's this marathon on cable tonight-"  
  
Max twisted the ring around her finger. "You can't miss the action. If we can't, you can't." She wasn't crazy about Robert. He wasn't as bad as Jordan, and he was a hell of a lot better than Margot, but it wasn't something she felt like dealing with. Not when Jace could be in trouble. Not when they still had a twenty hour drive ahead of them. Her stomach rumbled angrily. Two months of no morning sickness, but the night before a mission… Fucking nerves. The Outside world had softened her.  
  
Logan shot her a concerned look. He wheeled over to where she sat, taking her hand in his. "You can play sick, Max. My family will live. I'll understand." His left hand rubbed her barcode, and Max leaned into his touch. "Whatever you feel most comfortable with."  
  
As he leaned in to kiss her, they heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Jondy hopped off the counter and padded into the hallway. Max slid to her feet. Logan took her hand again, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. "It'll be okay, Max. We'll get Jace. You won't have to go back to Manticore."  
  
All she wanted was to believe him. Maybe after it was all done, she would find the courage to tell him about the latest development in their relationship. Weddings, babies--it was all happening too fast. Manticore had never prepared her for how fast the real world moved.  
  
"Bennett, Marianne, good to see you again." Max watched in wonder as he gave his cousins his usual brilliant smile. Maybe growing up in 'society' taught you the ability to bluff the same way growing up at Manticore did. At least Bennett and Marianne were actually human. Max stood and plastered a smile on her face, carefully tugging her sweater over her stomach. It wasn't her fault that almost all of her sweaters were cut short. It was her fault that her stomach wasn't as flat as it usually was… At least Cindy found this old sweater buried in the back of her closet.  
  
Logan turned his wheelchair, his cousins following in his wake. "You remember Max and Jondy."  
  
Jondy smiled from behind the door, carefully shutting it behind Bennett. "A pleasure to see you again." Max noticed that her sister had that vacuous look on her face again, the harmless face that meant she was up to something. Even the Colonel learned to fear that face. Her sister's eyes widened slightly when Jondy noticed Robert trailing behind Bennett. She shot Max a look. Maybe Jondy's heat wasn't over just yet.  
  
"Who's the beautiful lady, Logan?" Robert Cale flashed the same sexy grin as his cousin. Max could almost see every thought in her sister's head come to a grinding halt. Robert was the golden Cale, just like Jordan--blond hair, blue eyes, and the same mellow baritone the other Cale men had. Logan said once that Robert was wasted on the Seattle gloom. His younger cousin spent most of his summers with relatives in Los Angeles.  
  
"Jondy Guevara," her sister answered smoothly, recovering enough to give Robert her hand. Max was surprised that her sister didn't growl at him. Her blue eyes had that "I wanna fuck you" glow about them.  
  
"Max's sister. Bennett told me about you." Again, the Cale smile, potent enough to melt hearts and make women puddle. "I'm sure Max and Logan told you all about me." This time, the cocky smile faltered slightly, becoming a little less self-assured. "If you ignore any stories involving underwear or livestock--" Jondy choked. She shot Max another look before grinning at Robert again, spell broken. "If you tell me, I'll tell you about the time my brother woke up wearing women's underwear." She hooked her arm through Robert's, leading him over to the couch.  
  
"Logan mentioned you were feeling a little under the weather, Max. We'll try to keep dinner quick." Marianne smiled at her, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "Has your sister decided to settle in Seattle then?"  
  
Max looked over at where Jondy and Robert sat on the couch. Her sensitive hearing picked up mention of Zane's dog and Tawny's feet. Robert had one hand over his mouth, eyes wide with what looked like horror. He stared at Jondy, completely fascinated. "She's still deciding. I hope she stays for a little while. I missed her."  
  
"I miss my two sisters. They live in Wyoming, and I never see them anymore." Marianne looked over Max's shoulder and blushed slightly. "Pardon my manners. I'm Marianne Cale, Bennett's wife."  
  
Max looked behind her and noticed Victor hovering shyly at her back. "This is my brother-in-law, Victor Sanchez. He's with the military." She held out her left hand to Victor, drawing him further into the room.  
  
"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Victor said, shaking Marianne's hand.  
  
"Max, is that--?" Marianne pointed to her left hand as her ring sparkled in the light. Max found herself enveloped in a tight hug. "You didn't tell us! Of course your family's here now, if you have a wedding to plan. Logan, I can't believe--"  
  
All eyes turned towards her, and Max could feel her cheeks burning. But she was a soldier, and soldiers never showed weakness, even to their family. She straightened up and stuck out her chin, just as she would've fourteen years ago, at Manticore. Logan's eyes met hers with a look of incredible love until Max felt her insides turn to jello. That warm, jiggly feeling filled her stomach again, and she doubted it had anything to do with morning sickness. Maybe this crazy plan would work. No ravens to say nevermore. No sign of birds anywhere.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So you were planning on proposing all along?" Bennett shook his head, a forkful of spaghetti still hovering an inch from his mouth. "Of course you wouldn't say anything to Mother. That would ruin everything. I'm sorry, Logan. I can't apologize enough for her."  
  
Logan smiled at his cousin. From the way his arm moved under the table, Jondy could tell that he was reaching for her sister's hand. "I can't blame everything on Aunt Margot." He turned to Max, the look of love on his face so powerful that it hurt Jondy as she sat next to her sister. "If I had half the courage of some people I know, I wouldn't have taken so long to say something."  
  
"It doesn't mean we can't blame Mother for some things," Robert added in a light tone. He held up his water glass. "She had nothing to do with the Pulse, or with famine or with pestilence, though I think her hair dryer did cause the brown-out two nights ago."  
  
Jondy could feel her mouth curve into a smile. Robert Cale wasn't what she expected. Like the other Cale men, he looked younger than his 30 years. He was the middle child, three years younger than Bennett, and three years older than Jordan. Where Bennett was serious, and Jordan was supposed to be Tawny's twin separated at birth, Robert was the happy medium. He wasn't brilliant, he wasn't charming, but he had enough wit and looks to get what he wanted. And even though her heat had passed with Andy, Jondy could almost feel it reigniting.  
  
"Down, girl." Max's hand pressed on her thigh.  
  
Bennett turned to his left, fork still in hand. "So, Victor, you're with the military. Did you know Max and Jondy's father?"  
  
Jondy watched Victor choke down a mouth of pasta. "I worked under the Colonel before he died," he answered, a panicked look on his face. He reached for his glass of wine, downing half of it in one swallow.  
  
"And you have a son?" Bennett continued politely. This time, Victor shot Jondy a dirty look.  
  
"My son's with my wife in San Diego. I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go join them. I was recently reassigned so that I could be closer to my family." This time, Victor was able to flash his easy grin at Bennett. X-5s weren't the only ones who picked up a few moves at Manticore.  
  
"So you suffer from a large family too, Jondy?" Robert gave her a sympathetic look from across the table. "Three sisters and a brother?"  
  
"Three sisters alive," Jondy corrected. Three sisters alive and free. She didn't want to think about the ones who'd died at Manticore--Tinga, Eva, Brin, Jen… "Our parents wanted a big family, so they adopted a few of us. They died when I was almost ten, so we scattered. The Pulse didn't help when we tried to find each other afterwards."  
  
"You probably had a great childhood, growing up with all those siblings. I miss my sisters more than anything sometimes. And my nieces and nephews." There was a wistful look on Marianne's face.  
  
Manticore wasn't exactly an idyllic childhood. Jondy didn't think she could even call it a childhood. But Manticore did give her a family, even if it was a dysfunctional one at best. "It was hard, but I had my family," she said finally. Max's hand found hers under the table and squeezed it. "If it wasn't for my family, I don't think I would've made it out." She wouldn't think of Zack and the sacrifices he made so that the rest of them could lead as normal a life as they could. She wouldn't dwell on Tinga's death, or Brin's, fighting to save the ones they loved. Eva, Jack, Ben… Godspeed to the Good Place. At least she knew that they were in good company there.  
  
"So, Logan, have you two set a date yet? Father Michael needs at least a year's notice if he's going to perform the ceremony." The minute Bennett mentioned the wedding, Jondy noticed Max turning pale. She wondered if her sister would throw up again. At least that would end dinner. Maxie had never showed signs of nervousness before. But this was her second attempt at rescuing a sister. The last one got her recaptured and taken back to the pits of Hell.  
  
"Christmas," Max said with a forced smile. "My brother Lex said that he'd perform the ceremony--right here, if we wanted."  
  
"Eleven months--that's not that much time. You need flowers, a band, a dress. You need to pick a theme for your bridesmaids, your vows. And since you chose Christmas as a date, you need to plan now, before the holiday rush starts. And--"  
  
As Marianne ticked items off on her fingers, Max's face turned whiter and whiter. For a moment, Jondy was back at Manticore, watching Eva get shot down right before her eyes. Max wore the same stunned look now as she had then, a little girl in way over her head.  
  
"Excuse me." Max bolted from the table, one hand over her mouth. Logan gave Jondy a worried look as her sister ran down the hallway towards his bathroom.  
  
Before he could push his wheelchair back from the table, she stood up. "I'll go." Jondy smiled politely at the Cales. "It was nice to see you again." And she took off at a run after her sister.  
  
"Maxie?" Pushing open the door to the master bathroom, she found her sister leaning against the toilet, her dark head resting on top of the closed toilet lid. Jondy knelt beside Max, pushing the dark curls out of her sister's face. "Nerves that bad, baby sister?"  
  
Max turned so that she was half-sitting in Jondy's lap. "I've yakked three times today. That's three more times than I've yakked since Manticore. The second time."  
  
Jondy reached for a towel, hoisting Max up slightly so that she could reach the faucet to wet it. She carefully wiped Max's face, then tossed the towel into the hamper in Logan's walk-in closet. "Ten point shot, huh, Maxie?"  
  
Her sister managed a weak smile. "You should play one on one with Logan. He's got a better hook shot."  
  
Sliding out from under her sister, Jondy rummaged around in the medicine cabinet for some mouthwash. "Here, Maxie. You can't save the world smelling like you just yakked." Max obediently rinsed her mouth out, face still pale. "Is it nerves, or is the whole prego thing finally hitting you?"  
  
Her sister stared at her reflection, making faces in the mirror. "Nerves. The morning they started my reindoctrination at Manticore, I yakked all over Renfro." Max grinned, looking like her old self. "I can't get caught again. I'm scared shitless. Even the Reds didn't scare me this much." Her face fell again, until Jondy could see the little girl she'd known at Manticore. "Even Capture the Flag wasn't this scary."  
  
"It was when Lydecker set you and me and Zack against everyone else." Jondy turned over Max's wrist, tracing the faint scar. "Remember?"  
  
Max held up her other wrist. "That was the only time Zack ever broke his promise."  
  
"Max?" Syl walked in, holding out the phone. "It's Zane."  
  
Max looked relieved as she took the phone into Logan's closet to talk.  
  
"No traffic?" Jondy hugged Syl. "Maxie's been out of her mind because of all this shit."  
  
Syl wrinkled her nose. "Yakked, huh?" She sat on the lid of the toilet. "Eva used to do that, before training exercises."  
  
"I wonder if the Colonel ever knew how scared we got." Jondy hoisted herself up to sit on the edge of the sink. "I threw up after our first live ordnance drill." Even the memory of that shell bursting near her face made her stomach turn.  
  
"Zane can't find Jace." Max walked out of the closet, her face still pale. "Jace's neighbor said that she took Max to Rosarito for a few days."  
  
"Fuck." Jondy kicked the sink. "If we can't find her, at least Manticore can't either."  
  
"Max?" Logan wheeled in from the bedroom, Krit not far behind. "My family left. We can leave now, since Krit and Syl are here." He locked the brakes on the wheelchair, standing up. "Max?"  
  
Max's eyes met Jondy's as she rubbed her stomach with one hand. "Let's blaze," she said softly.  
  
"I'll meet you back at Max's," Jondy said quickly. "I wanna stop some place first."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The church was quiet when Jondy walked through the large double doors. The Blue Lady statue stood in the corner, a serene look on her face. "You better watch out for Maxie," she warned the statue. "You failed Ben, but if you fail us again..."  
  
"If you ask for help, you might have better results," a gentle voice said from behind her. Jondy whirled around to find Father Destry standing in front of the confessional, a slight smile on his face. "As I said before, the Lady doesn't give up as easily as we do."  
  
"She let Jack die," Jondy argued, advancing on the priest. To his credit, Father Destry didn't flinch or back away. "She let my baby die, and Zack and Tinga. Ben worshipped her his entire life and she never came to help him. We all believed in her, and she still let Manticore beat us down."  
  
"She made you strong," Father Destry countered quietly. "The Father never threw anything at you that He knew you couldn't handle."  
  
"God decided to let man play creator and fuck with our genes. Our father tortured us to see how much we could handle. And if the people who created us get their hands on my baby sister again, I don't think any of us will live through it." She was surprised when her voice cracked. "Maxie's pregnant. And Manticore wants our babies. If she goes back..." Jondy shook her head. "Logan won't survive it. Maxie definitely wouldn't. And I can't be Big Brother. None of us can."  
  
Father Destry was silent. He reached out, putting a hand on her arm. "Sometimes you just have to have faith," he said slowly. "I know it's hard, but sometimes that little bit of faith will be the deciding factor that helps you pull through." The priest smiled. "I can't promise you a miracle, but I can promise that you aren't alone, and you won't be alone. If you only cast one shadow, it's because He's there, carrying you."  
  
She looked over the priest's shoulder at the Blue Lady who still smiled benevolently, even after all these years. "Keep them safe. Keep us safe. You don't have to make Manticore go away. Just…a little peace. It's not like I'm asking for entrance to the Good Place." Even now, years later, she still fell back to her oldest childhood beliefs and fears. But the nomalies of the outside world were much worse than the ones in the basement at Manticore.  
  
"The oldest prayer," Father Destry said. "Dona nobis pacem. Bring us peace." He took a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. "It's not the same one you gave me, but I thought you might like a new one. Kind of like turning over a new leaf." The image of the Blue Lady looked almost exactly like the one she remembered from her childhood. Some people had teddy bears that they clung to. She had a bizarre childhood goddess that her brother thought up. But it was still protection. And it was still comfort for whatever the future would bring.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Father Destry gave her one last smile. "Just have faith. That's all He asks."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ready?"  
  
Syl and Jondy nodded as they arranged the bags in the trunk of the Aztek. Everything questionable was stuffed in the false bottom of Krit's ancient Jeep. Everything they packed looked innocent enough-tents, sleeping bags, an ancient camping stove. Logan had even managed to find some fishing poles somewhere, including one child-sized one that looked well-used and probably well-loved.  
  
Original Cindy shoved a flat package at Max before hugging her tight. "You said your vest was too short, boo. Hopefully this'll help protect that baby boo you got growin' inside."  
  
Max turned the package over and over in her hands. "Where-"  
  
Her roommate grinned. "You ain't the only one with skills, sugar. Just come back, boo. Original Cindy like this living situation we got."  
  
Jondy walked around the Aztek, Syl at her heels. Cindy held out her arms to both of them and hugged them too. "You take care of each other, aiight? Three going, three of y'all comin' back, or else I'll put a smackdown on your ass."  
  
Syl looked at Jondy and nodded, her blue eyes solemn. Max never thought about what it was like for the rest of them, coming home minus two of their siblings. It was bad enough, waking up to find Zack dead, but it must have been worse for Syl and Krit, thinking both her and their big brother gone. "No one gets left behind this time. I promise." And from the look on Syl's face, Max knew that her sister would die making that promise come true. They all would, this time.  
  
"Max?" Logan called from the driver's seat of the Aztek. Krit was already settled in the Jeep, Victor in the passenger's seat.  
  
"Bye, boo." Max hugged Cindy one last time. "If something happens…"  
  
Cindy chuckled, tears in her dark eyes. "I'll watch over your baby. Just remember that I love you, boo. And if you need anything, I'll be at your side with my smackdown stick."  
  
Max nodded, blinking back tears. This was her first and oldest friend--her only friend who wasn't genetically altered. "Love you too," she said, letting Jondy pull her away. No matter what it took, she was coming back to Seattle. This time, her family was going to make it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Logan looked in the rearview mirror. All three girls were crowded into the backseat, asleep. Max sat in the middle, her head resting on Syl's shoulder. Jondy was curled up across the two of them, her head on Syl's thigh, one arm draped over Max's stomach. It was different from the last time he watched X-5s prepare for battle. Maybe it was because they didn't know what they were up against. They'd prepared for everything they could think of, barring acts of God. They even had enough camping equipment to provide an alibi-three couples who want to get away from the city for a week. Everything was different. There was no Lydecker. And if they got to Jace soon enough, there would be no need to attack the resurrection of Manticore either.  
  
Syl's eyes opened. "Where are we?"  
  
"About an hour north of San Francisco." The sun was just beginning to come up. "You slept most of the night."  
  
She looked out the window at the highway. "Krit's probably getting tired. We should switch out drivers for a while."  
  
Logan smiled slightly, looking at the blonde in the rear-view mirror. "Miss him?"  
  
"A little." To his surprise, Syl actually blushed. "It's not like you and Maxie. It's…" She looked out the window again as she tried to find the words. "He's not just my brother anymore. But if I have to leave someday…" Syl trailed off. Logan could see her glance down at Jondy's head in her lap. "He was there when I needed him, and I still need him. I might always need him. We'll see." She shook her sister's shoulder. "Wake up, Jondy. You're making my leg fall asleep."  
  
Jondy sat up. Logan heard a smack as she bumped against Max. Looking back again, her eyes met his in the mirror. "Switching off?" Max yawned. "I can take over, if you want."  
  
Logan fumbled for his cell phone and passed it to the back seat. "Call Krit. Let him know…" He trailed off as the Jeep pulled up along side the Aztek. "Great Manticore minds think alike."  
  
Syl snorted.  
  
The jeep followed as he pulled the Aztek off the side of the road. Syl immediately opened her door, climbing up into the jeep almost before Victor had a chance to hop out.  
  
"Guess we're switching off" was Victor's only comment. "Can't fault the guy because I'm not a petite blonde. Front or back?"  
  
Jondy climbed over Max. "Go ahead and crash in back with Maxie, Logan. Victor can ride in front and keep me awake."  
  
Max yawned. "Need more sleep as you get older, big sister?" Logan felt relieved when she gave her usual lopsided grin.  
  
"Don't make me hurt you," Jondy warned as she climbed into the front seat. She gave Logan a light shove. "Move it, Miracle Boy."  
  
As soon as Logan settled in the back seat, Max leaned against him. He'd never seen her look so tired. She actually drooped.  
  
"You okay?" He rubbed the back of her neck with one hand as she settled against his shoulder.  
  
"I don't feel like I'm gonna hork anymore." She yawned, nuzzling his neck. "I'm just worried. And scared."  
  
"Sleep, baby sister." Jondy's blue eyes were worried as she looked in the rearview mirror. "We can stop for food in a few hours."  
  
Logan leaned back against the seat and settled Max's body more comfortably next to his. Her fatigue was contagious, but then, they hadn't slept much the past few nights either. He was surprised that Max's nerves weren't shot to hell, especially considering what happened the last time she tried to rescue one of her sisters. It would be different this time. This wasn't an attack on Manticore.  
  
He wouldn't let Max go again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I thought Max didn't sleep." Victor nodded towards the back seat where Max and Logan sat, snoring.  
  
"Maxie doesn't. But it's been an unusual week." The road seemed to fly by as the Aztek and the Jeep raced down Highway 5. Jondy tried not to think of the last trip she took up to Seattle, and the news she got when she found Logan. KIA wasn't an option this time.  
  
"You were the other nocturnal one, weren't you? Jace never said anything, but Max mentioned her insomnia once…" Victor trailed off, as if he wasn't sure how to treat her. She still wasn't sure of what she thought of a guy who tweaked genes for a living, so at least the feeling was mutual.  
  
"Maxie and I just never needed sleep. We can all survive without it if we have to on a mission. Jace used to always crash hard after we trained. She was hard to wake up in the morning too. Sometimes Zack would make Brin sit on her chest until she woke up." That was Jace's only failing as a soldier. She was the best at following orders--better even than Brin, but Jace was one of the few who didn't snap to attention when the wake-up call came in the mornings. That was the part of Ben's stories that her sister had always liked best--in the Good Place, you could sleep in as late as you want.  
  
Looking at Victor out of the corner of her eye, Jondy saw him staring at the picture of his son. "Why Jace?"  
  
He looked up at her, startled. "Is it cheesy to say she intrigued me? I heard rumors about the escape, and one of the doctors mentioned that Jace was one of the ones left behind. She seemed different from the other X-5s, until they reindoctrinated Brin. The fact that she had a name…"  
  
"Jace was the nickname of one of the doctors. When Ben accidentally broke Jace's arm in the shower when we were small, that was the doctor that set the break." Jondy smiled, remembering the kind look the doctor had given them. "He was nice to us. No one had ever really been nice to us before on the medical staff. Mostly they just poked and prodded us. So when we named ourselves, Jace picked his name."  
  
"I saw the files." Victor put the picture back in his wallet. "Lydecker probably knew that I hacked in. Most of the other techs tried too. We knew that something was up. It wouldn't make sense for all the barcoded kids to be around. I didn't get in too deep, but I made it to the general psych profiles they did of your class. Deck actually admitted to underestimating you. He was proud of you, I think."  
  
Jondy snorted. "Gotta make Dad proud after all. Nothing better than living up to our killing potential. I'm glad they asked us if we wanted to be soldiers when we grew up."  
  
"You made it out alive," Victor reminded her.  
  
"I did," Jondy snapped back. "Ask Ben and Tinga and Brin and the others how they feel about that."  
  
They lapsed into silence. She tried to concentrate on the road ahead, but it was hard. She was tempted to take the highway to the 101 and drive down through her old haunts-Cambria, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria. She hadn't been back to Pismo since Zack first found her, almost ten years ago. He kissed her then. He didn't kiss Maxie when he found her in Seattle.  
  
"Do you love her?" It even startled Jondy when she asked the question. Victor gave her the deer in the headlights look as he clutched his hands in his lap.  
  
"Maybe," he said finally, his face a little pale. "I was attracted to her. I risked my life to be with her. I think…" He looked down at his hands. His knuckles were almost white around his wallet. "I think I'll know, when I see her again."  
  
"Maxie thinks she loves you, as much as we can love. Jace loved you enough to risk freedom for your child, even though it still scares the shit out of her sometimes." The world wasn't well-ordered enough for her sister, but Jondy knew that Jace would do anything to keep her son out of Manticore. Just as Jondy would have done. Just as Max would have to do.  
  
"I don't know if I can handle a love like those two have." Victor nodded towards the back seat. "I don't know if I want that option."  
  
"Everything has its price."  
  
Some things were worth it. Looking back at Max and Logan, curled up together, Jondy wondered if it was worth it for them. Even in her sleep, Max had both arms wrapped around her stomach. The next few days would tell if it was worth it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"It's still the same. Old Town hasn't changed a bit," Jondy remarked as they drove through San Diego in the dark. "Turn left here, Maxie. The old water tower should be on the other side of the refinery."  
  
Max turned down the dark street, automatically scanning the buildings for any sign of suspicious life. This part of town was as dead as the industry that had once inhabited it. From the smell, these were docks, pre-Pulse.  
  
"Is it mandatory for all secret meetings to be in bad neighborhoods after dark?" Victor's voice was nervous. "I know you guys want to keep this covert and all that shit…"  
  
"Didn't Jace tell you we can see in the dark?" Max parked the Aztek under the shadow of the water tower. "I guess we wait."  
  
Then, her pager went off. A low sports car pulled up next to the Aztek. Max's hand checked to make sure her Kevlar vest was zipped up under her shirt. She looked back at Jondy, signaling twice. Her sister nodded, motioning for the men to duck down. Then Jondy flashed the signal to get out.  
  
With her eyes on the car next to her, Max carefully slipped out of the driver's side, inching her way along the Aztek. Three figures sat in the dark car. One of them might've been Tawny. Even X-5s couldn't see through tinted windows in the dark.  
  
A door opened on the sports car and one tall figure stepped out. In the moonlight, his skin gleamed a dark brown. There was no mistaking the priest's collar around his neck.  
  
"Lex?"  
  
Her big brother smiled his gentle smile, holding his arms open. "It's okay, Max. It's just Tawny and some friend he picked up in New Orleans. The man's clean. He already checked out."  
  
Max found herself surrounded by Lex's strong arms. Her brother was still thin, his dark brown hair cropped close to his skull. The barcode on the back of his neck was gone. He must have had it removed recently.  
  
"Lex!" Jondy was swept up into her own hug. "Maxie said that this wasn't your fight."  
  
"A brother of ours reminded me that it was my duty to protect all of God's innocents, and that includes my own nephew." Lex's smile widened briefly. "And Tawny threatened to kick my butt."  
  
"One more for our side. We might kick ass after all." Max grinned at her brother. She peered at the figure that climbed out of the car after Tawny. "Fuck. Tell me that isn't--"  
  
The third figure stepped into the light. "Tony mentioned he had sexy sisters, but he didn't say that you knew one of them, Max." Jordan Cale's face broke into the familiar Cale grin. "Is Logan--"  
  
"Aunt Margot was wondering where you were," Logan said mildly as he came to stand beside Max. Automatically, she leaned back against him. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, Jordan."  
  
Jordan's charming smile faltered. "Tony said he had to do some ass-kicking to save a sister of his. What else can be involved?"  
  
"Black helicopter boys," Logan said, echoing Original Cindy.  
  
"Frankenstein and his three hottie sisters. We've even got the stitches to prove it," Jondy added.  
  
"Conspiracy, military school rejects, genetic mutations…and a partridge in a pear tree." Max gave Jordan an innocent, wide-eyed look. "Your basic Cale family gathering, minus the wicked bitch of Seattle."  
  
"It makes sense now. Cale." Tawny nodded, as if the light was finally going on in his head. "So Jor's dad was the guy you offed to get your apartment?"  
  
Jordan glared at his cousin. "What the hell's he talking about?"  
  
Max snickered softly as Logan pulled his cousin aside to explain that. "So, did you tell him anything, Tawny?" She automatically assumed Big Brother mode, even if she couldn't glare as well as Zack did.  
  
Her big brother shrugged, his golden eyes sullen. "I figured we could use the help. Jor knew a guy with a plane, and the guy had a car we could borrow. I figured I could ditch him this side of the border, cause his family would probably shit a brick if he died in a fire fight."  
  
Max smacked her brother, something she hadn't done in years. Instead of wrestling her to the ground the way he would've even two years ago, he just gave her a wounded look. "How the fuck was I supposed to know he was Miracle Boy's cousin? What the hell did you bring him for anyway? It's not his fight."  
  
"He's been trying to bring down Manticore for as long as we have. We're taking that bitch down this time. I'm not going back there." She didn't know if she could handle another winter, or if they'd even let her escape a third time.  
  
"They burned it once, Maxie. It still came back from the ashes." Tawny's voice was gentler. "We let them get too many of us already. I figured we could use the help." In his eyes, Max saw the same brother she knew at Manticore, the one that had to be restrained when they took Jack away. She owed her life to Jack, and to Eva. Probably to Tawny too, since he protected Jack with his life. "Maybe after this you won't have to be big brother anymore either." He gave her a crooked smile.  
  
Max heard the sound of a car approaching, all around her, she could see her brothers and sister fall automatically into fighting stance. Even Lex's hand fell to his hip in search of a gun that wasn't there. With a quick flash of her hands, Max signaled for the four of them to circle up around Victor, Logan, and Jordan. Tawny already had one gun in hand, and was tossing a smaller pistol towards Lex. They would be the long-range defense. She and Jondy would attack low when the Enemy moved in too close.  
  
Looking at her sister beside her, Max saw a grin on Jondy's face. She could feel the same look of anticipation on her own face. Lydecker was right. As much as they tried to hide it, this was what they were engineered for, and their bodies knew it. And sometimes you had to let the dogs out.  
  
"Logan, what-" Jordan's voice was cut off as headlights pulled into their parking lot. Max didn't let herself relax, even though the car was a Jeep that looked a lot like Krit's. She circled slightly to the left, crouching down in front of Logan. His hand fell to her shoulder momentarily, letting her know that he would drag his cousin and Victor behind the Aztek if he needed to.  
  
The headlights flashed three times as the Jeep pulled up next to the Aztek. Two familiar figures sat in the front seat. Max let her body relax. "It's Syl and Krit." Logan's arms slid around her waist, drawing him close to him. She carefully shifted his grip above her belly, thankful that her new vest hung to her hip. All she needed now was for him to find out. They could deal with the pregnancy after they got Jace and Max safe. She only wanted to think about one X-5 baby at a time.  
  
"Cavalry, huh?" Syl hugged Tawny and Lex. "Too bad Jet's overseas. He'd probably love to be here."  
  
"Too bad Eri went straight. We could use his aim," Krit said as he hugged both of his brothers. "But he's got a kid to think about."  
  
"The men in black won't want Eri's girl. I checked her. She's a nomaly." Max tried her best to forget her only niece when she thought about what might be growing in her stomach. Eva was three years old already, and she still wasn't walking or talking. "Eva's mama said it was autism. I guess she carries the genes for it or something. I dunno if anyone could fix that."  
  
"It's dark, and it's suspicious. We still waiting on Zane, or should we shift this somewhere else for the night?" Victor looked around nervously as he stood as close to Krit and Syl as he could.  
  
"That Max's daddy?" Tawny nodded towards Victor. "Lab tech, right?"  
  
Victor nodded, backing away from Tawny. Max had forgotten how tall her brothers were. Tawny was probably even an inch or two taller than Logan. He hovered over Victor. "Victor Sanchez." He held out a hand, which Tawny promptly ignored. "Which X-series did you work on?" Lex shook the offered hand. "Father Alexander, of Los Angeles."  
  
"They had me working on the seratonin deficiency in the X-5s when I first hired on. I worked under Dr. Anselm," Victor answered casually. Max could feel her muscles tighten at Anselm's name. She was the bitch who decided to open up dead X-5s to see what made them tick, and what made them fail. She'd never forget the sight of Dr. Anselm and the Colonel watching as techs dissected Jack's body. And Anselm wasn't nearly as bad as Renfro.  
  
"Logan, don't you have a cousin that lives around here?" she cut in. All around her, her brothers and sisters were beginning to tense. "We could crash there for a day, then head for the border."  
  
Logan nodded. "Bree lives about twenty minutes inland. Jordan, you've been there, haven't you? My Aunt Anita's daughter's?"  
  
"She the redhead?" Jordan grinned. "If she's the redhead…"  
  
"The brunette." Logan sighed. "If you slept with my cousin…"  
  
"Bree? Nope, didn't fuck her. I did the redhead though. Erin?"  
  
Logan turned back to Krit. "If you head back up the 5…"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Brianna's house was set back on a hill near an old country club. The remnants of Old Money still lived there, in the midst of farms and horse pastures. Apparently Logan's mother's side wasn't as well off as his dad's though. His cousin's house was small by Cale standards, which suited Max just fine.  
  
The front door opened as the Aztek pulled up in front of the house. A small woman stepped out, waving her hand.  
  
"Hey, Brianna!" Logan waved back as he slid out of the car. Max followed, staring up at the house.  
  
"You're walking!" Brianna ran down, coming to hug Logan. "You never said you were up on your feet again."  
  
"Just call me Miracle Boy," Logan answered. He grinned at Max. "Bree, did I ever introduce you to my fiancée, Max?"  
  
Brianna turned to look at her. In the light, Max could see a slight resemblance in her face to Logan's. Brianna was small and dark, her eyes the same grey as Zane's. But there was something about the way her eyes crinkled up when she smiled…  
  
"Welcome to the family, Max." And Max found herself wrapped up in yet another hug. "It was your nephew then that we helped to the border, and your brother-in-law Charlie."  
  
Max shot Logan a look. "So you're a safehouse?"  
  
Brianna's smile widened. "Part of the Eyes Only Foundation for Women and Orphans. And the occasional widowed father. Charlie stayed with us for a few days while my husband arranged to get him over the border. How is Case?"  
  
"He's almost eight. I talked to him at Christmas. Charlie said he's starting to write stories now." She hated to talk to her nephew sometimes. He never asked where his mommy was anymore, but Max still felt like she let Case down. He didn't need to know how his mother died. At least he still remembered her. And she would always live on in his stories.  
  
Brianna peered around her at the rest of the group, slowly assembling behind them. "Is this the whole crowd? We might be stuffed in, but I think we can find beds for everyone tonight. The kids are with Erin, and Johnny's on duty tonight, so someone can always take my bed too." She started towards the house, waving at them. "Fall in, troops. There's food waiting in the kitchen."  
  
Jondy's eyes met Max's. "She knows about us?"  
  
Max shook her head. "She's got kids though. Maybe she runs them like a squadron. I think Logan's uncle was military anyway."  
  
They filed into the warm kitchen. A stack of sandwiches sat on the large kitchen table, waiting for them. "Sodas are in the fridge, and I can make coffee if you want."  
  
"Do you have any milk?" Syl asked. Max noticed that her sister looked a little pale.  
  
Tawny coughed. "Make that two." He caught Max's eye. "Six?"  
  
"Six," Lex repeated, sitting at the table and unbuttoning his collar. "Six, please," he amended with a smile.  
  
Brianna complied without asking any questions. Tawny carefully doled out the glasses of milk to the X-5s. "Cheers," he said, holding up his glass.  
  
"To unfortified milk," Jondy intoned, a solemn look on her face. They clinked glasses and drained them dry.  
  
"Brianna, did I introduce you to everyone?" Logan settled into a chair, pulling Max into his lap. Max turned sideways, leaning her head against his shoulder. "You probably remember my cousin Jordan…"  
  
"Erin told me about him in detail." Brianna's gray eyes looked like they could shoot holes in Jordan's head. Jordan actually blushed and ducked his head.  
  
"The rest belong to Max. Her sisters Jondy, Syl, brothers Krit, Tawny, Father Alexander-"  
  
"Lex," her brother corrected with a slight smile. "Lex works for now."  
  
Logan smiled and nodded. "And her brother-in-law, Victor."  
  
Brianna nodded. "If you ask me tomorrow morning, I might remember your names. So don't get too upset if I call you something else."  
  
Syl gave her usual shrug and half-grin. "We're used to it," she said in a light tone. "I've been so many different names that sometimes I can't remember my real one." Even though they changed names the way some people changed outfits, Max knew that none of them would ever forget the names they first chose. Those names came at too high a price.  
  
There was silence. Max could see the beginnings of fatigue in her brothers and sisters. Syl's hands were starting to shake as she reached for a sandwich. Krit had shadows under his eyes. Jondy just looked tired, and if her big sister looked tired…  
  
"Eat if you want. If not, we have a few bathrooms so that you can shower off. Or I can show you to the bedrooms." Brianna wiped her hands on her jeans, as if she wasn't sure what to do with them. "Then you can be on your way tomorrow. Johnny's looking into the best time to get you over the border."  
  
Max looked up at Logan. "A shower and bed sounds good," he answered, touching her cheek. "Tomorrow--"  
  
"Tomorrow." There was finality in that word. There was fear too. You never know what would hit you tomorrow. And the day always came too fast.  
  
With a sigh, Max stood, pulling Logan to his feet with her. Brianna smiled again and led them off towards the hallway. Max wasn't too surprised when her brothers and sisters fell in behind them, two by two.  
  
Brianna opened the first door on the left, revealing a canopy bed in a frilly little girl's room. "Sam's room. There's a trundle bed underneath, so a few of you could fit here, if you don't mind sharing."  
  
"I'll take it. Tawny? Lex?" Jondy put on her best sex kitten face, leering at their brothers. "There might be room for one more, Jordan."  
  
Logan's cousin whimpered. "Don't do that to me. Especially if you're wearing the blue flowered underwear."  
  
Jondy blushed as she darted into the room. Once again, Max had the feeling that she didn't want to know.  
  
"Don't say it. I don't wanna hear it. That's my baby sister," Tawny warned Jordan before following Jondy. He looked back at them one last time. "Anyone else?"  
  
Lex shook his head. "I'm not blowing three years in seminary with thoughts about my little sister." He ducked as a pillow sailed through the doorway with deadly aim. "Watch it, Jondy! Or I'll tell the Colonel!" He dodged past the doorway. "Any other rooms?"  
  
Brianna opened the door on the right. "Bunkbeds for the guys. Tyler and Jamie's room." To Max's inexperienced eye, the room looked like a jungle heaven.  
  
"This works for me," Victor said. He turned to Lex. "Safety in numbers."  
  
Lex grinned. "Only if I get the top bunk. It's easier to defend from the higher bed."  
  
Victor stared at Lex as if he was trying to figure out if the other man was joking. Unfortunately, Max knew he wasn't.  
  
"Bathroom is down the hall if anyone wants to shower," Brianna called, heading for the stairs. She turned back to Max and Logan. "We have a double bed in the guest room, and two can take my room, if you want. I can sleep downstairs on the couch. Both rooms have bathrooms attached."  
  
"We'll take the guest room," Krit offered, one arm around Syl. Max wasn't surprised when her sister leaned into Krit. It was still strange to think of them together. Zack and Jondy were like that once. Maybe if Logan hadn't come along, and if she'd known her brothers in the years after Manticore, she would've loved one of them too.  
  
"Towels are on the bathtub, and if you get cold, quilts are in the chest at the foot of the beds." Brianna pointed to two final doors. "If you need anything…"  
  
Logan leaned over, kissing Brianna on the cheek. "Thanks for having us, Bree."  
  
His cousin smiled. "Anything for Eyes Only." She patted his cheek and headed back towards the stairs.  
  
The master bedroom was taken up by a huge four-poster bed. It was the kind of room that Max thought only existed in fairy tale cottages--two overstuffed armchairs in front of a fireplace, gauzy curtains hanging from the posts of the bed. An open door led into the bathroom, revealing a sunken bathtub. Candles rimmed the edge of the bathtub, almost inviting a romantic bath.  
  
Without a word, Logan walked into the bathroom and lit the candles. He turned the water on so hot that Max could actually see the steam rising from the tub. As the water filled the tub, he poured some rose-scented bubble bath into the water. Then, Logan began to unfasten his khakis to get to the exoskeleton underneath.  
  
"Join me?" The look on his face was pleading. And though the soldier within her screamed no, in memory of what happened the last time, Max was willing to pay the price. No one ever said they would have a tomorrow.  
  
Max carefully slipped the exoskeleton off Logan's legs, setting it just outside the bathroom door. She flipped the light switch so that only the candles lit up the bath and bedroom. If he took his glasses off, chances were that he wouldn't notice her belly in the dark. Logan didn't have night vision. He was completely human.  
  
When she walked back inside, he sat in the tub, waist deep in bubbles, boxers lying on the floor next to his glasses. Logan pressed play on the CD player that stood on the shelf above the tub. The heavy sounds of drums and stringed instruments began to play.  
  
"Your bath awaits, milady," Logan said, holding out a hand to her.  
  
Some take their hope, and hide it away  
  
It burns in the darkness, like gold in a grave  
  
"What is this?" She pointed to the cd player as she slipped into the tub beside him.  
  
"This is an Irish pub band Johnny knew growing up in LA." Logan leaned over, kissing her shoulder. "I thought you'd stay with Jondy tonight, since we're going in tomorrow."  
  
She traced the line of his cheek with a soapy finger. "Last time…" She didn't kiss him last time, because she was afraid that it would cloud her mind. Last time was different. The last time, she'd been in the hangover of heat and ready to take down the bitch that killed her sister. Three years later, she was scared shitless that she might have to face the hellhole known as her childhood again. This time, there might not be a friendly canine transgenic to bust her ass out of Manticore.  
  
There's a spark inside, that can't be concealed  
  
No hurt is so secret that it won't be revealed  
  
He reached out, running his hand through her hair. "Marry me," he said suddenly. "We could probably find a ring tomorrow morning. Lex can perform the ceremony. Your sisters are here."  
  
Before the night is over  
  
Make your heart an open door  
  
Then all we hold inside us  
  
Won't divide us anymore  
  
Max pulled back slightly. "Marry you?" In the pale light of the candles, Logan's blue eyes were serious, more serious than she'd ever seen them.  
  
Before the night is over  
  
And the time we have is done  
  
Before our courage fades away  
  
Let our hearts be bound as one.  
  
"Marry me," he repeated. "After all that shit last time-after Manticore, after the virus-I swore I wouldn't let you go again. Marry me tomorrow. If we have one day…One more day, Max." He didn't say it, but he knew, and she knew. It might be all they had.  
  
I've lost my way, when nothing is clear  
  
I've been afraid to love, then I hurt what I fear  
  
She slid away from him, staring at him across the tub. She rubbed her belly with one hand, wondering if it would bring her luck, like Buddha. Max opened her mouth and tried to say something-anything. But as hard as she tried to be her usual cynical smart-ass self, no answer would come.  
  
I can face the night, find the strength in your eyes  
  
Not afraid to fall, not afraid to rise.  
  
Max remembered back to the night of Bennett and Marianne's wedding, wondering if she would ever have enough courage to bind herself to someone like that. That meant vulnerability, and there was no guarantee that her vows would last until death parted her from Logan. Manticore made sure that there was no lifetime warranty on forever. She fucked up the last chance she had to say that she loved Logan. Maybe this time…  
  
Before the night is over  
  
Make your heart an open door  
  
Then all we hold inside us  
  
Won't divide us anymore  
  
She got out of the tub and ran dripping into the bedroom. Pulling out a plastic bag from her backpack, she shook out Logan's ring. Slipping the ring over her thumb, she walked back into the bathroom.  
  
"Max?"  
  
"Why wait til tomorrow?" And she sat back in the tub beside him.  
  
Before the night is over  
  
And the time we have is done  
  
Before our courage fades away  
  
Let our hearts be bound as one.  
  
She knelt in the water in front of Logan, holding the ring out in the palm of her hand. "There were times I was lost, and you found me," Max said. "There were days which were heavy, and you lightened my heart. That hasn't changed." She gave him a smile, running her free hand through his damp hair to rest at the back of his neck. "That never will change."  
  
Logan pointed to where his shirt lay on the floor. "In my pocket, Max…"  
  
There was a small pouch in the buttoned pocket of his shirt. He took it from her hand, shaking it open to reveal a thin gold ring. "Times have been good, and times have been bad, and still, our love has endured--and triumphed." Logan's voice was rough with emotion. He slipped the ring on her trembling finger, just above her engagement ring. The wedding band perfectly against the diamond ring. "I take thee Max Guevara to be my lawfully wedded wife."  
  
Before the night is over  
  
Let our hearts be bound as one.  
  
Max took his hand in hers, slipping the band on the fourth finger of his left hand. "I take thee Logan Cale to be my lawfully wedded husband." She turned his palm over, kissing it. "Through passion, through sorrow and hope." She leaned close, kissing his lips lightly. "Through death and through life." He cupped her chin in his hand, wiping stray tears from her cheeks. "No matter what tomorrow may bring, we will face it together," he whispered, kissing her. "I love you."  
  
"I love you." And they kissed each other again, as husband and wife.  
  
Before the night is over  
  
Let our hearts be bound as one.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"March, soldier!" A cattle prod shocked her in the back as she stumbled mid-stride. She could feel her legs trembling beneath her body. She didn't know how much farther she could go. But she wasn't going to let the Colonel win.  
  
The barracks were just ahead. She could see their cell block looming out of the evening haze. Just a few more steps, and they could all rest. In front of her, Eva and Tinga drooped as they walked. And just beyond them, Tawny actually had one arm looped around Jack, keeping him upright.  
  
Beside her, Max began to shake. Her little sister fell to the ground, face scrunched up in pain. Like all good soldiers, Max didn't say anything, but tears began to trickle out of her eyes.  
  
"Move it, soldier!" Again, she felt the sharp pain of the electric jolt at her back. Ignoring the pain, she knelt at her sister's side.  
  
"Maxie?" Her brothers and sisters broke formation and surrounded them, just as they'd done the night of the escape. Max's face grimaced in pain, her body shaking as the seizures grew stronger. "Max!"  
  
Soldiers knocked her brothers and sisters aside, trying to get at Max. Around her, she could hear fighting, but all she could concentrate on was the shaking body of her sister in her arms.  
  
"Let go of her, soldier! We need to take her. She's a nomaly." Strong hands shook her, trying to pry Max's body out of her arms, but she wasn't going to give up without a fight. "Drop her, soldier!" Again, she felt the sting of the cattle prod against her back. This time, the pain blossomed in her stomach, just as it had when the baby came. And there was blood, and they were grabbing Max to take her away--  
  
"Jondy!"  
  
Jondy sat up, her body shaking. "Easy, Jondy," Tawny's voice whispered in her ear. "We're at Bree's, baby sister. It's not Manticore." She opened her eyes, surprised to find herself in a little girl's bedroom. Tawny's strong arms lifted her into his lap, cradling her against him. "Maxie's upstairs with Logan. You're safe, baby sister. You both are."  
  
Her muscles relaxed as Tawny lay down again, pulling her body with him. She turned over, burrowing her face in the crook of his shoulder. His arm settled around her again, holding her close. "Tony?" Jordan's head peaked over the edge of the bed from where he was lying on the trundle bed. His blue eyes blinked sleepily at them. "You guys okay?"  
  
"Just a nightmare, Jor. Jondy'll be okay. I'll stay up here with her tonight." Tawny's hand stroked her back as she rested against his side. "Sleep, baby sister. Everyone's okay. I promise." Because Tawny always worked his ass off to keep his promises, Jondy believed him. It wasn't his fault Jack got taken away. None of them knew that their brother was a nomaly. Not even Manticore could fix Jack's genetic defects.  
  
"Thanks, big brother." She kissed her brother's shoulder before closing her eyes again.  
  
"I'll keep you safe, Jondy. I'll keep both of you safe, just like Zack asked me to."  
  
Feeling safe again in her brother's arms, Jondy forced herself to sleep again and not think about what was to come.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jordan yawned as he stumbled into the kitchen. Logan chuckled as his cousin opened the fridge and stared inside with a blank look on his face. "Sleep okay?"  
  
His cousin glared at him on his way to the coffee pot. "Jondy wouldn't share the bed at first, so I was stuck with Tony on the trundle bed, and he kicks. Then Jondy had a nightmare, so she woke both of us up. So Tony slept with Jondy to make her feel better, but then I couldn't sleep because one of them started snoring. And then they both got up at some ungodly hour before sunrise." Jordan poured a cup of coffee, spilling half of it on the counter. He blinked at the spill, and then carried the dripping cup to the table.  
  
"I think they all went out for a jog. Syl and Krit were gone by the time I got up." Logan wiped up the counter and then closed the fridge door. Apparently, Jordan still needed a keeper.  
  
Jordan swirled the contents of his cup around before downing half of it. "What's up with them? I thought Jondy'd be Asian, since Tony is, but she's this cute little brunette. She looks more like Aunt Sara than Tony. Max and Krit look alike, but Lex is black. Unless their family went for the whole United Nations adoption thing."  
  
"Something like that." Logan walked over to the window and looked out at the backyard. Just beyond the swingset, he could see a line of three pairs jogging down the hill. Even now, they jogged in precise order, two by two, feet perfectly in step as they hit the dirt path. "See, they're back."  
  
Jordan came to watch over his shoulder as the X-5s broke into two lines of three and began the same morning exercises that Logan had seen Max do a hundred times. She never said what Manticore did to her while she was there a second time, but there were habits like the morning katas that she was still struggling to break.  
  
With military precision, they blocked, kicked and dodged in one smooth motion. They broke into pairs, dancing around each other on the grass like something out of an old martial arts movie. Even dressed in the remnants of sweats and pajamas, the X-5s still looked deadly. And they were still a beautiful sight to watch.  
  
"There was this broadcast a few years ago that the Eyes Only guy did about kids being tortured at this military facility. Some of them escaped back in '09 or some shit. That's who they're running from, isn't it? Their black helicopter boys?" Jordan's eyes were still focused on the X-5s as they performed their exercises.  
  
"Manticore. Twelve of them escaped in 2009. Nine of them are left." Logan nodded towards the group as they ran through an attack pattern. Jordan blinked as Jondy easily flipped over Max's back to kick at Krit's outstretched hand.  
  
As quickly as it started, the X-5s broke formation and filed towards the back door. Max gave Logan a small smile as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "They aren't too rusty. We might pull this bitch off."  
  
"Running keeps us in shape, baby sister. Vigilance saves our asses more times than I wanna count," Tawny said with a grin, taking her water and drinking it before passing it to Syl. "Any word from Zane on Jace?"  
  
Max shook her head. "There wasn't a sign of struggle at her place, and none of her neighbors heard anyone screaming or anything, so she's probably still at the beach with Max."  
  
Tawny gave her a quick hug around the shoulders. "We'll find her, Maxie. I promise."  
  
She shrugged out of his grasp. "Yeah. I know." Then she took off for the stairs at a run. "Dibs on the first shower!"  
  
"Cheater!" Logan laughed as Krit and Syl ran running after her. Jondy settled at the table, water bottle in hand.  
  
"Why so smug?" Jordan asked, taking the chair beside her.  
  
The brunette grinned. "I think Victor just used the last of the hot water."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So if we leave at noon, we can be at the border by about 12:30. I should be able to wave you through." Brianna's husband Johnny grimaced. "If not, gun it, and I'll try to hold the troops back."  
  
"We've got the passes, if that helps. Raoul was able to get me a few of them in a hurry." Logan passed the envelope across the kitchen table to Johnny. "We'll have to leave the Mustang here, but we can come back for it on the way up."  
  
Max pointed to a small dot on the map, about a hundred miles south of the border crossing. "Jace said she lived here last. Zane's in Rosarito now, tracking her down. When he finds her, he said he'll page."  
  
Krit and Victor both studied the route. "If we get separated, we'll meet you just outside of town then." Krit patted the cell phone that he wore at his hip. "I picked up some Spanish from Zane, so we should be okay."  
  
"Tawny, Syl, and Lex can ride with you two," Max said as she folded up the map. "We'll take Jordan."  
  
Tawny shook his head. "I don't want you and Jondy alone in the Aztek." Before Max could protest, he cut her off. "It's nothing against your skill, baby sister. You and Jondy have more bad-ass in your fingers than anyone I know. But you've got Logan and Jordan, and it would be better if we split up, three and three. Since I brought Jordan, I'll come with you guys."  
  
Jondy caught Max's eye, wriggling her eyebrows. Her sister nodded once. "We might as well, Max. They have all the big guns in the back anyway, so it'll be crowded in the Jeep as is."  
  
Her five brothers and sisters looked at her, waiting her decision. Max wondered when she'd become C.O. of their whacked little outfit, but figured it came with the Big Brother hat. It was her rescue mission. She couldn't help wishing someone else were in charge. She'd done enough solo missions over the past few years to appreciate the fact that she had back-up at all, but she didn't want the mission resting on her shoulders. The last failed mission had been her brilliant idea. No one wanted a repeat performance of that.  
  
"Let's pack up the shit and move out. I can't take this anymore."  
  
Half an hour later, the cars were repacked and provisioned. The secret compartment that Syl rigged in the Jeep even impressed Johnny, who spent the past ten years as a border guard. "One of your parents must've been military. That's a damn good job."  
  
Syl only shrugged and smiled.  
  
As the others separated into the two cars, Logan and Max stood in front of Brianna. "Take care, Logan," Bree said, reaching out to hug them both. "We'll keep watch."  
  
"If you don't hear in a week, call Bling. He'll let Eyes Only know what happened." Logan handed her a piece of paper. "And if a woman with a baby arrives…"  
  
Bree nodded. "I'll send her to the next safe point." She turned to Max. "Take care of him. He's my favorite cousin."  
  
Max nodded. "I'll guard him with my life." Which she would. Which she did, automatically. It was what she was made for--to serve and protect.  
  
"Ready?" Logan held out his hand to her. "Thanks, Bree. You've helped so much…"  
  
"Just come back with that little boy safely."  
  
As she climbed into the front seat of the Aztek, Max looked at Logan's hands gripping the steering wheel. Sunlight flashed off the ring on his left hand. He quoted a bit of poetry to her once from one of his favorite books. One ring to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them. He must've had the same idea she did. She knew how much the past still haunted him. They both clung to each other now.  
  
The Aztek's engine roared to life. As they drove down the driveway, Max slipped her wedding band off her finger and looked on the inside. She squinted at the words engraved there. "Ex amor vitae?"  
  
Logan's hand reached out to squeeze her own briefly. "It's Latin. From love comes life." Ex amor. Some guy said that love was the strongest force on earth. She hadn't even known what the word meant until after the escape, even though it was a feeling she'd felt from the first moment her brothers and sisters were all together. From Zack's love, she got her life back. She wasn't going to waste this second chance. There was no guarantee of another.  
  
Here we are now going to the south side  
  
I pick up my friends and we hope we won't die  
  
Ride at night, ride through heaven and hell  
  
Come back and feel so well 


	5. Winds of Misfortune

Disclaimer: Still not mine.  
A/N: Thanks again to Laura, especially for the three rewrites I put her through. My beta is a beautiful person. And this chapter would've sucked ass without her. Thank you!! 

Chapter Five: Winds of Misfortune 

_God help the outcasts  
The tattered, the torn  
Seeking an answer  
To why they were born  
Winds of misfortune  
Have blown them about  
You made the outcasts  
Don't cast them out  
The poor and unlucky  
The weak and the odd  
I thought they all were  
The children of God  
_ --"God Help the Outcasts," Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Border check." Logan pulled the Aztek in line behind the Jeep. Up ahead, he could see Brianna's husband Johnny directing the Jeep to move forward. 

Jondy shook Jordan. Either he was asleep, or he was trying to get a really good look down her shirt. With Logan's cousin, it was hard to tell. Because Jondy was the smallest, Tawny had volunteered her for sitting in the middle of the back seat. She hadn't thought that her brother had ulterior motives for using her as a pillow.

Jordan's head rolled off her shoulder and onto the back of the seat. "Go'way, Rob, I di'n't screw your girlfriend," he muttered, hand trying to bat something away from his face. Jondy looked up, stifling laughter, and caught Logan's eye in the rear-view mirror. Out of the four Cale men, Robert was undeniably the handsome one, but there was something about Logan... Maybe because there was an actual soul or something behind his blue eyes. Logan and Bennett got all the good Cale genes. Jordan...Jordan was nice to look at, if nothing else.

Tawny caught her hand, tugging at it to make her look at him. His golden eyes had the same night mischief in them that they used to in the barracks at Manticore. Reaching one long arm around her, her brother pinched Jordan's nostrils together. Jordan's blue eyes flew open as he gasped for breath. He sat up so fast that his head hit the top of the Aztek. "What the fuck?" He glared at her and Tawny. Jondy just gave him her best innocent smile.

"If you don't behave, I'll tie you to the top of the car again," Logan warned, laughing. It was the _again _part that caught Jondy's attention. 

Jordan rubbed his nose, glaring at his cousin. "I'll tell Max about Jessie if you do."

Before Logan could answer, there was a tap at the window. As Logan rolled it down, Johnny stuck his head inside. "Country of citizenship?"

"United States," Logan answered, holding up his driver's license. The others followed his lead.

Johnny checked something off on a clipboard. "Business or pleasure?" 

"Pleasure," Max answered, focusing the full force of her smile on Johnny and the supervisor that stood just beyond him. "Camping and fishing. My dad used to come down to Baja before the Pulse and--"

"Thank you, ma'am," Johnny interrupted. "How long will you be staying?"

"One week," was Logan's prompt reply.

The supervisor leaned over and whispered something in Johnny's ear. Jondy could see the other man flushing. "Would you pop the trunk please, sir? We need to check the back." Hopefully they wouldn't notice the explosives tucked in the tackle box...

Logan complied, and the two men began to rummage through the camping supplies in the back. Looking over her shoulder, Jondy could see Johnny reaching for the tackle box. She reminded herself to breathe. Altered breathing always gave away your position. Any physical change in your condition would only show the weakness of your defense.

"You got some nice lures here. Hand-made?" Johnny held a feathered hook up. "My dad used to know how to make these."

"That one would be ripped apart in the ocean, since we're after marlin if we can find them. That fly's handmade. My grandfather was a champion fly-fisherman up in the Rockies." Logan's voice was conversational. Being an underground cyberjournalist taught him some skill in calm.

There was another long moment as Johnny conferred with his supervisor. Finally, the two men shut the hatchback of the Aztek. "Have a good trip," the older man said. "I hope you catch some nice fish down in Baja."

Jordan buried his head back down into her shoulder as they drove across the border. "Remind me to stay at home next time, Logan."

~*~*~*~*~*~

South of the border didn't seem all that much different than north of it. They drove quickly through Tijuana and then onto the road that would take them down the coast. Jace's village was about 100 miles south of the border on the Baja peninsula. Instead of driving straight to the small village, they were headed to an old fishing resort, in case they needed to throw anyone off their tail.

"It seems too easy," Tawny muttered as they arrived at the campsite on the beach. "It doesn't make sense. Manticore's usual M.O. is to get in and get out. All this effort and intrigue for a little boy?"

"Lydecker went after Case himself." While Max was glad someone else decided to voice his doubts, it didn't make her feel any better about the plan. It didn't add up. Manticore let Victor escape with the knowledge that they were after Jace, but they didn't put a bug on him. They even set up shop in Gillette again, as if they didn't learn the first time that you never put the secret base in the same place after it was destroyed. At least the facility south of Seattle was still in ashes. She just wished she knew what the hell was going on. Nothing felt right. The objective was clear, but the mission was seriously whack. 

"So this place wants your sister and her kid?" Jordan opened his door and hopped out, followed by Jondy and Tawny. "What's so special about her? I know you guys are like secret operative-trained or some shit, but--"

"All their data blew up in the fire a few years ago. Maybe Manticore has a few foreign buyers. If they can hawk a few babies with our genetic code, maybe it'll get them fundage to start over." Max shrugged. "The others that were left scattered after the witch hunts in Seattle. They knew Case and Jace's Max existed, and someone had to be Max's daddy. Maybe they just narrowed down the choices, planted the info, and are hoping we'll lead them to Jace." The bulge in her stomach rumbled in protest or hunger. If Manticore knew what she was growing in her belly... Maybe it was time to tell Logan too.

"Why don't they just come after one of us and harvest our eggs though? It's not like they don't have the capabilities to clone. Didn't you say the X-7s were mass-produced anyway?" Jondy pulled a duffle bag out of the back and shook out one of the tents. 

"Lydecker thought there was something special about Case's genetic code. My sources said that previous breeding programs didn't work, and no one knows the results of the last one, since it ended rather abruptly." Logan grabbed some tent poles and began to feed them through the holes in the tent. "Maybe they want the human/X-5 cross to take care of some of your genetic weaknesses. Soldiers who have seizures don't do them much good in the field."

"They'll still get babies they have to train, though. It makes more sense to take one of us and try to reprogram us. It worked with Brin." Max shaded her eyes with her hand, staring out at the ocean. It seemed bigger here, bluer than the cold, murky waters of Seattle.

"I don't think they want you back, baby sister," Jondy said with a grin. "The shit you pulled cost them a lot of money." Max grinned back. It was something to be proud of. She didn't bring down Manticore, but she did kick them in the balls a few times.

As the Jeep pulled up beside the Aztek, Logan's cell phone rang.

"...Yeah? You found her?" Logan's eyes met hers and he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll tell Max. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Showtime, kids," Max called as Krit set the parking brake. "Don't get too comfy." She hauled herself up the roll-bar and waited for the others to get out. 

"Who goes, who stays?" Lex asked, hopping to the ground. "We should leave someone here with the gear..." Max noticed her brother's eyes drifting towards Logan and Jordan. Logan was already pulling his laptop out of the bag and plugging it into the small radar array Sebastian rigged for him.

"Your telecom manager's all plugged in and ready to go." Logan grinned. "Jordan can stay with me. He had decent aim ten years ago when Uncle Jonas took us on safari."

Jordan groaned. "Just because I almost hit you in the ass, Logan--" His eyes widened as Syl began removing guns from the back of the Jeep. "Shit. You guys could start your own international war."

"It's what we were bred for," Syl quipped as she tossed some clips at his feet. "Logan?" She held up two rifles.

"The mini-14. The kick on the other one would make me drop the laptop." Max couldn't help feeling proud at how calm Logan's voice was. He wasn't an X-5, but he was close enough to be an honorary member of their Freedom Force.

Max stood on the back of the Jeep for a while, surveying their little group. For a moment, she was back at Manticore, the Colonel standing over her shoulder as she picked her team for the battle of the day. "Lex stays. Krit stays. You two have the best aim, and we might need Syl's explosive skills. Victor--" She turned to the former lab tech.

He nodded. "I'll crash here with the guys."

"Get in the Jeep. How good are you with a gun?"

The other man's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "Decent. They had all the base operatives trained in case of another escape."

Max nodded, satisfied. "Pick your weapon and get in." She signaled for and wasn't surprised when her brothers and sisters automatically fell into 'at ease' position. Some instincts never died. "Call this Operation Early Bird." Smiles creased the other X-5 faces briefly as her brothers and sisters remembered Jace's inability to wake up in the morning. She pointed to Syl and Jondy and motioned for a stealth decoy op, if necessary. Tawny was assigned to watch Victor. Jondy pointed to Max, a questioning look on her face. "My old game, big sister," Max answered with a half-assed grin. "E&E. Got the plan?"

Her five siblings nodded. She hopped down from the back of the Jeep, only to be caught up in Logan's arms. "Be careful," he said, kissing her fiercely. "If Manticore's out there, and they get their hands on you..."

"Seven of us are coming back. We're not leaving anyone behind this time. Cindy said she'd put a smackdown on my ass if I did." She smoothed the worry lines that furrowed his forehead. "This is cake, Logan. E&E. That was my favorite game when we were little."

He nodded, his blue eyes still worried. "Just...Come back."

As she climbed back into the Jeep, she noticed Syl and Krit standing off to the side, arms around each other. It was still weird to watch her brother and sister lean in to kiss each other, but in its own way, it made perfect sense in the world they lived in.

"Move out, soldiers!" Max barked in her best Zack voice as the others piled in beside her. Syl took the Jeep out of park, and Max tried not to look back at the Aztek as they drove down the road.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Logan noticed his cousin pale every time he looked at the selection of weapons lying discretely on the floor of the dome tent. Krit sat on the picnic table that folded out of the back of the Aztek, running line through a fishing rod. Lex knelt by the fire burning in the fire pit, roasting a hot dog on a stick over the flame. A skillet sat to his left, waiting for whatever fish they might catch. The weather was overcast, so it looked like they might actually have a chance at catching something in the surf. The other campsites along the beach were empty as far as they could see. After the Pulse, legal tourism south of the border had dropped.

"So what's up with him and the blonde?" Jordan nodded to Krit as he sat beside Logan. His cousin picked up a tangled ball of fishing line and began to fidget.

"Krit and Syl? They're banging each other." That was one of Max's more discrete ways of putting it.

"Isn't that incest?" His cousin looked over Logan's shoulder at the laptop screen. "You monitoring radio waves or something?"

"Trying to. This computer isn't powerful enough to pick up sat feeds." Luckily, all the local channels were clear. If Manticore was within a fifty-mile radius, they weren't using any frequency he could pick up. "Syl and Krit only share the X-5 specific DNA. Otherwise, their genetic code is completely different. Incest would be Krit and Max." It hadn't surprised him when Logan found out that Manticore recycled DNA. It was easy enough to twin an embryo. For some reason, Lydecker chose to use Max's genetic template to make a male clone. 

"So they were like...mixed in a blender?" He could see Jordan trying to digest this. "Jondy's a genetic frappaccino, blended to be all she can be?"

"With a little cat in her cocktail." Logan smiled slightly, but Jordan didn't respond. Maybe his cousin didn't need to know about Manticore's little alterations to the human genome yet. "The X-5s were engineered to be officer class, so they were trained from the time they could walk."

"And twelve kids escaped from a high security military base when they were nine years old." Jordan shook his head in disbelief as he looked at Krit and Lex. "And those are two of them."

"It was winter. Winter in Wyoming. And twelve of them made it out alive." It was the first escape that made Logan wonder how Max managed a second one. The first time, she was nine years old, and had eleven of her brothers and sisters to watch her back. The second time, it was just her, a dog-man, and the transgenic twin of one of her less-adaptable brothers. She'd made it both times. A third time would be pushing their luck, if Manticore would even let her live that long...

"Shit. And I got myself involved in this?" Jordan's face was unhappy as he struggled to unknot some fishing line. "Why didn't you leave me on the other side of the border, Logan?"

"We warned you." Logan had his own personal vendetta. Even years later, he still wanted every hint of Manticore eradicated from the face of the earth. The desire didn't consume him, like it had while Max was still in there. He looked at the wedding band on his left hand and clenched his hand into a fist. He could almost see an end. Not a happy end, but an end to all this shit. And now, he wanted nothing more than to get on with his life with Max.

"Next time, hit me over the head and tie me to the top of the car. It worked the last time." Jordan threw down the fishing line in disgust and shuffled away.

"He knows the score now?" Krit came to sit beside Logan. "You tell him everything?"

"I skipped the feline DNA. He doesn't deserve warning if Jondy goes on the prowl." His cousin had grown up somewhere in the past few years. He still wasn't a responsible man yet, but Jordan showed signs that he might actually be one of the decent Cales someday. If they all survived that long. 

"They'll come back." Krit's hand squeezed his shoulder. "We're stronger now. There's more of us. United we stand, big brother." Krit stared off at the ocean, his face looking more like Max's than ever. "They'll come back," he repeated, as if all he could see was a transgenic blond.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Crammed into the back seat with her sisters, Jondy could feel it when Max's pager went off. Her sister glanced down. "What's our location?"

Tawny rattled off the latitude and longitude from the map. Her sister looked down again, comparing the numbers to the display of her pager. "A few more miles. We should probably break here."

"Does that mean someone has to watch the Jeep?" Tawny grinned. "Krit would kick our collective asses if anything happened to it."

"Just like when you tried to beat the shit out of Zack for scratching your bike," Syl reminded him, shutting the engine off. "Big guns are in the back. If you hand me the duffle on the left, I'll take care of the charges."

As they began assembling for war, Jondy heard a rumbling sound in the distance. Her eyes met Max's. Her sister nodded, signaling that she heard it too. When Victor saw that the others froze, he shot Jondy a questioning look. Jondy shook her head and motioned for him to duck back into the Jeep. Victor complied as the rest of them fanned out in front and behind the Jeep. Without thinking, she grabbed one of the big guns that were lying in the back of the Jeep.

The sound grew louder until Jondy could identify it as the dying engine of some off-road vehicle. No military operation in the world would be caught dead with a piece of shit equipment like that. It would give away their position in half a second. Looking over the top of the Jeep, she focused on the cloud of dust that was just rising on the horizon. It was just outside the range of her telescopic vision, but she thought that she could make out an old Jeep and two figures inside. Neither was wearing black, which was always a good sign.

"Jace," Victor whispered from inside the Jeep. He looked up from his binoculars. "It's Jace and some blond guy."

"Zane." Then, a light flashed in a quick pattern from the center of the dust. Jondy knew the pattern like the back of her hand. It was another one of Ben's creations from their late nights in the barracks. Sister. And then another series of flashes that Jondy recognized as Jace's designation code.

"All clear." There was a note of doubt in Max's voice even as her sister signaled for them to break formation. Jondy noticed that none of them obeyed, but she didn't think Max would mind this time. It was too easy. Manticore taught them to always overestimate the enemy, which was hard when you were fighting against your own teacher.

The battered Jeep drew closer, belching a cloud of white smoke. Jace and Zane seemed alone in the vehicle, but that didn't mean that fifty grunts weren't stashed just over the hill. Jondy watched as Max slid out of their Jeep cautiously and went to greet their siblings.

"Hey, baby sister." Zane put the Jeep into park and hopped out. He held out his arms and Jace handed him down a blanket-wrapped bundle. The bundle struggled briefly, kicking at the cloth until two small arms and a head appeared, glaring darkly at Zane. 

"Down!" the small voice demanded. Zane winced as the little boy kicked him in the gut. When Zane wouldn't comply, the boy opened his mouth to wail. One look from Jace caused him to shrink back into the blanket, limp again in Zane's arms.

Jace tumbled out of the Jeep with the grace only one of their siblings had and ran into Max's arms. The two stood for a long time, hugging each other. Finally, Max broke away and pulled her over to the rest of them. "Family reunion, Jace."

After all these years, her older sister was beautiful. Looking at her, Jondy could see a striking resemblance to Lex, another bit of evidence for Logan's twin theory. Even though she'd talked to Jace on the phone a few times over the past three years, it was still strange to see the sister they left behind. Jace was the only one who refused to go, and Jondy knew how much trouble their big sister still had, adjusting to the world Outside.

"Jacey." Syl went to her first, followed by Tawny. Jondy hung back, still not sure of what to say or do. She looked to Zane, who gave her an encouraging smile over their nephew's head. Zane handed their nephew off to Max and took Jondy by the hand.

"She won't bite, little sister." His voice was gentle. "Well, not like she used to when we were little." There was a smile in his gray eyes.

Jace stared at her. Her sister was tall, taller than Max, maybe as tall as Tinga had been. She had a look of Tinga about her. Maybe it was that motherhood thing. Jace's baby lived. Jace might get her happily ever after, if she ever let herself forget Manticore.

"Hey, little sister." Jace's dark eyes seemed to search hers for something as she held back. "I--" She stepped closer and tipped Jondy's face up with the same light touch Jondy remembered from Manticore. "I'm sorry."

"Mama?" Jondy looked down to see Jace's son at their feet, tugging on his mother's shirt. "Mama, qui est--?"

Jace leaned down, hoisting her son to her hip. "These are your aunts and uncles, Max. Say hi to your Auntie Jondy."

Jace's Max stared at her with his father's tawny hazel eyes. "Hi, Tia Jondy," the boy said shyly before burying his face in Jace's shoulder. He reminded her vaguely of Case when her oldest nephew was small. Case was about three the last time she saw him.

"Hi, Max." Jondy held out her hand. Her nephew stared at it for a moment before shaking it. His grip was strong for a toddler. Looking up at her sister, Jace nodded. Their second nephew had bred true to his X-5 genes too.

"Jace?" Jondy turned and saw Victor finally climbing out of the Jeep. He hung back behind Tawny, as if he wasn't sure what to do.

Jace trembled for a moment. Jondy could see the little girl her sister had been at Manticore, trying to decide between freedom and the only home they knew. Running was a hard habit to break, especially when it was burnt into your genetic code. "Victor." She turned their son to face his father. "This is your papa, Max. Remember, like I told you?"

Victor reached out a hand to his son, just as Jondy had done. The small boy took it and stared back up at his father. "Papa," he echoed in his little voice.

Max reached out, putting a hand on both Victor and Jace's shoulders. "We might wanna move the family reunion back to camp," she said gently. "Just in case some black helicopter boys try to crash the party."

Jace cracked a smile. She looked at the second Jeep with doubt. "I don't know if Zane's piece of crap will make it any further."

Zane studied the heap. "We can make it. We just can't go too fast. Or stop."

Max nodded. "Fall out then. Rendezvous back at camp." She shoved Victor towards the second Jeep. "Go get to know your kid."

Jondy tried to look away as Victor took Jace and his son in his arms. There was an awestruck look on the lab tech's face as his son wrapped his arms around Victor's neck. She would never know how Zack would have reacted to being a father. He swore up and down that families were just a liability, but he never let his guard down enough to really love anyone either. She shrugged it off, leaving that dark thought for her next lonely night. It wasn't good to worry about crap like that in the middle of a mission. 

But, regardless, as Jace pulled Victor and little Max up into the Jeep, Jondy looked down at the scars on her wrists and wondered anyway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"How you feeling, little sister?" Zane turned around from the front seat to peer back at Max. "I know you weren't feeling up to peak condition at New Year's." His nose wrinkled slightly. "Your color's off, Maxie." At least he didn't say that her pheromones were off, like Tawny or Zack would've. Max was less inclined to slug her big brother, knowing that he meant well. "When was your last heat?"

Max glared at Jondy, who was staring back at Syl driving the Jeep behind them. "First week of December."

"She still has another month, Zane. And Jondy and Syl are even further away. Don't worry." Tawny punched their brother on the arm. "It's not like Maxie's pregnant or anything."

That snapped Jondy out of whatever cloud she was living on. The look on Zane's face changed from concern to chagrin. "Logan doesn't know."

Max glared at her brother. "And if he finds out, I'll kick someone's ass." 

"Shit. I don't know if you really want to go to a doctor in Seattle, in case Manticore's tapping the blood banks to see if any odd genetic patterns show up. Maybe if you get checked out down here in San Diego..." Zane ducked his head, light brown hair falling into his eyes. He turned to Jondy. "You knew. And you let her--"

"Let her do nothing! I'm her sister, not her keeper," Jondy snapped. "We'll be lucky if this baby turns out with two arms and no tail. It's not like Maxie doesn't know what the risks are." She slumped back in the seat, leaning against the roll-bar. "We know what the price is of getting pregnant. That's why we're careful. Ask Syl what she and Krit do whenever she goes into heat." 

Zane reached back, touching Jondy's cheek. "I'm sorry, baby sister." His tone was gentler than Max usually heard it, and the way he touched Jondy didn't exactly seem brother-like. Maybe it was different for Jondy, seeing her brothers off and on in the years since Manticore. Or maybe Syl and Jondy couldn't love anyone who wasn't Manticore, the same way Max kept clinging to an imaginary dream of family.

Jondy moved her face, kissing the palm of Zane's hand. "I know, big brother."

"What're you gonna do about the baby, Maxie?" Tawny's voice was serious. "Are you gonna tell Logan?"

"Eventually." Max wrapped her arms around the small bulge in her stomach. It would probably be best to tell Logan soon. He was gonna notice sooner or later that her stomach was growing. She peaked back at Jace and Victor in the Jeep behind them, heads bent together. Maybe she'd tell Logan when they got back to camp... "It doesn't seem real. I can't be pregnant. I could just be getting fat."

Jondy's arms enfolded her. "I know the symptoms, baby sister. That little bulge isn't fat." Her sister patted her stomach. "That's two and a half months of Cale-Guevara growing in there."

"Mama Maxie. Make it a girl this time, baby sister. I want a niece that I can use to pick up chicks." Tawny turned back and gave her a quick grin. "I can see her already, all blue eyes and curls... She's gonna be Daddy's little girl, the same way you had the Colonel wrapped around your little finger."

" I did not!" She had vague memories of a night in the infirmary, Lydecker sitting at her side. He wasn't her father, but that night...that night she'd pretended he was. It was the first time she'd heard the word father, and for the longest time, Max thought it was someone kind of like a doctor or a Watcher who took care of you when you were sick. Her baby was going to have a father, just like her nephew wasn't going to grow up without his either. 

Jondy's arm tightened around her shoulders once more. "Tell him, Maxie. Just in case." Her sister didn't need to continue the thought. Zack died without knowing his son. And Max would never forget the look on Victor's face when he learned that the child Manticore was chasing was his.

"I will." When they got back to camp, she would. She just needed to figure out the right way to say it...

The rest of the ride was silent. Max was relieved if not a little surprised when they pulled into camp unscathed. She hadn't heard one helicopter on their trail. It made her worry. No sign of resistance was a bad thing. And she knew Manticore had to be out there. You tend to develop a heightened internal radar system after years on the run. Her Manticore radar was screaming, but she just couldn't tell where the signal was coming from.

Logan looked up in surprise as the two Jeeps drove in. He was right there to catch Max as she jumped out, clinging to her as hard as he had that night she escaped from Manticore. She knew he worried. She knew that the worry ate at him until it almost consumed him whenever she was out on an objective for Eyes Only or the X-5s. But it was part of their life together, and always would be.

"We made it back," she whispered in his ear as he buried his face in her hair. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him just as close. "Logan, there's something I have to tell you..."

He pulled back, blue eyes searching hers. "What is it, Max?" 

Max took his hand and placed it on her belly. There was no easy way to tell him, but she would do it the same way she did everything else in her life--her own way. She gave him her usual crooked grin. "Wanna kitten?"

Logan blinked at her for a moment, the same puzzled look on his face as when he'd first learned about her heat. He opened his mouth to say something when Max heard what sounded like the soft roar of an engine--an engine too powerful for a pleasure or civilian vehicle. 

With a rush, she shoved Logan behind the Jeep and immediately began scanning the area. Gunshots echoed as Max caught sight of ten grunts in black running past two snipers, and another eight piling out of a transport vehicle about 500 feet to the south. They must have been lying in wait. Either that, or Manticore was getting a little more creative with their bugs.

Her siblings surrounded her, immediately falling into an arrowhead formation. Krit and Tawny tossed guns around, each taking out a sniper with a precise shot. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Victor, Logan and Jordan huddling with her nephew behind the Jeep. Lex and Jace stood in front of them, shotguns already cocked and ready to fire.

The men in black rushed the camp until everything was a blur of kicks and punches. Max dodged the blows as easily as she had as a child, letting her hatred for everything Manticore fuel her energy. Jondy and Syl fought at her side, just as they had when they were small.

"Maxie, behind!" Jondy fell to a crouch, kicking out as Max flipped over her back. She heard her nephew begin wailing behind her, and whirled around to see what threatened the men. Max heard Jace cry out from the other side of camp, but there was no time to see to her sister now. If someone got to the men...

"Shit!" Jondy fell to the ground, clutching her arm. An unusually quick soldier pulled back from her, blade in hand. He dropped the oddly-shaped knife into a pocket and drew another, advancing on Max. Max automatically began to circle around him, assessing his skills. The man was sharp. If he didn't move so slow, he could almost be Manticore. The back of his neck was bare. 

The soldier slashed out. Max was careful to keep her eyes on his at all times. One of the Colonel's first lessons was to watch the Enemy's eyes to see where their next attack would land. She lunged out, aiming a kick at his wrist. The soldier plunged his knife into her calf muscle. She tried not to wince as the blade sank into her flesh. Fucking bastard. He was gonna haveta die.

"Max!"

The soldier dropped the blade into another pocket and immediately dove out of her threat range. She heard a rumbling behind her and dove out of the way just as the transport sped into camp. The soldier winked at her as he grabbed onto the back end, hauling himself inside. Another soldier threw out what looked like an envelope, one of the lamest tricks in the book.

Max looked around, trying to assess the situation before she decided to follow the transport. Syl sat breathing heavily, clutching her arm the same way Jondy did. Jordan was still huddled behind the Jeep, holding little Max in his arms. Tawny knelt in front of a body. Max prayed it wasn't one of theirs. Scanning the camp, she found the bodies of ten soldiers in black, but no sign of Logan and the others. A sick feeling spread through her stomach. She barely made it to the edge of camp in time to vomit up everything she'd eaten that day. 

"Maxie?" Syl's hand held out a wet rag. Her sister still clutched her bloody arm with one hand, but the wound looked shallow. It only reminded Max of the pain in her calf. "They got Krit."

Jordan stood up cautiously. Her nephew's face was buried in Jordan's shoulder. "They took Logan too. And the blond guy. Some of the soldiers were coming towards us, and Logan and the others rushed forward..." Jordan trailed off, his face still shocked. "The guys just knocked Logan and Krit and the other guy out, like they totally knew what they were doing."

"But they left you and Max. Something's not right in Denmark. Manticore. Whatever." Tawny walked over, cradling a body in his arms. His face was solemn. "We took out ten of them, but they got one of us." 

Max shook her head. There had only been twenty that she could see. With eight X-5s, that was more than enough to take out an entire squadron of soldiers. They'd done it before. She looked down at the body, smoothing her sister's dark hair back from her face. "Jacey." Ambushes always went bad, but never this bad, not for them. This just couldn't be happening.

Tawny laid the body on the ground. Max could see three blood stains across Jace's faded blue shirt, two in her stomach, and one through the heart. There was also a cut across her sister's right forearm, shaped similarly to the one that bastard with the odd knife left on Jondy, and Syl and herself. Maybe Jace accidentally got caught in the crossfire. Or maybe Manticore meant to get rid of her sister. All Max knew for sure was what getting shot in the heart felt like. She touched the long scar that still cut across the edge of her left breast. At least Jace had died a soldier's death, and a mother's death, protecting her son. 

"Godspeed to the good place, little sister," Tawny said softly, leaning forward to kiss Jace.

"Mama?" As little Max looked up from Jordan's shoulder, Jordan immediately dumped her nephew in Max's arms. She found herself facing a pair of big hazel eyes. "Why's Mama on the ground?" the little boy demanded, lower lip puckered up in a pout. 

"Mama's..." She was bad at making promises to her nephews. Well, she had no problems making the promises, it was the keeping them that was the issue. You'd think she'd learned that over the years. Max looked at the wedding band on her finger, wondering if that was another false promise. But sometimes you only had one day, and Logan already knew the price. "Mama's sleeping, Max."

"Sleeping?" Her nephew's thumb found its way to his mouth. The little boy didn't cry though. He just stared at Jace's body, a dazed look on his small face.

"I'll take him, Max." Jordan's arms gently scooped up her nephew. Max could feel her eyes burning as Jordan walked back towards the Aztek, her nephew cradled, absolutely silent, in his arms. Case clung to his father the same way when she delivered the news to Charlie three years ago. She'd never forget the look in Case's eyes when she had to admit that she broke her promise. Case was five years old. He had two more years of memories with Tinga, and he'd understood, to an extent, what his mother's past had been. But her namesake...

"We'll get them back, baby sister." Jondy's arms wrapped around her waist. "Let's take care of Jace first."

With the five of them, it only took a short while to dig a hole deep enough about a quarter mile from the campsite. Lex wrapped Jace's body in a sleeping bag. Before tying it shut, he took the cross from around his neck and fastened it around Jace's. "It might help with negotiations at the gate," her brother said with a slight smile.

Manticore buried its dead with little ceremony. This time, there was no X-8 to play Taps on his beloved bugle, but Max didn't think they needed anything. The sigh of the wind was enough, carrying towards them the soft sobs of their nephew.

"To the Good Place, Jace. Keep my baby company." Jondy stared into the hole, throwing a handful of dirt onto the sleeping bag.

Max didn't say anything as the others piled dirt into the hole. She had to focus on the fact that Manticore had Logan and her brothers, and losing another one wasn't an option. Another nephew was going to grow up without a mother. Her baby was going to have a father. Even if it wasn't the brightest idea to keep this child, it was all she might have of Logan, and damned if she was going to let Manticore kill everything she loved.

As her brothers and sisters finished burying their dead, Max signaled for their attention. Blood-smeared and dirty, the four X-5s fell into position in front of her, just as they had little over two hours ago. "We're gonna go back to camp and track these bastards down. And when we find out what they want, we're gonna kick their asses."

Jondy smiled slightly, but nodded with the rest. "Permission to speak, baby sister?"

Max nodded. Jondy was Biggest Sister now.

"Let's make Lydecker proud."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Jondy was surprised to see her nephew asleep in Jordan's lap when they got back to camp. The blond man actually had a tender look on his face. He looked older than he had yesterday, shell-shocked maybe. Now, she could see an even stronger resemblance to Logan.

"He cried himself to sleep." Jordan laid him down on the back seat of the Aztek. "Is it done?" He didn't have to specify what. It wasn't like anyone couldn't guess what he was asking about.

She nodded. "At least Jace got to see Victor one more time." If only her sister died knowing that her son would grow up free. Jondy wondered sometimes if her own mother knew that she escaped from that hellhole. Little Max might not have a mother, but he had plenty of aunts and uncles who loved him. And two cousins.

"Oh, I found this on the ground." As he fell into step beside her, Jordan handed her an envelope. "I think it's from them." He shook his head. "If I knew this was what Logan was doing in his free time..."

"How do you think your cousin got shot in the back?" Jondy opened the envelope, not too surprised to find a disk inside. "Hey, Syl, we got a present for you!"

Syl sat at the picnic table near the fire pit, Logan's laptop in front of her. "Maxie, do you know the password? If I can get in, I might be able to hack into the local satellite feed or something."

A pale Max sat on top of the picnic table and took the laptop from their sister. "DarkAngel5452. All one word." Jondy smiled slightly. "What?"

Jondy moved up behind her two sisters, so that she could see over their shoulders. "You were Zack's password to the contact number, baby sister." When her sister's face fell, she leaned over to hug Max from behind. "It's okay, Maxie, we _will_ get him back." She made a promise three years before that Max would get every chance for a happily ever after. And though X-5s didn't have a great track record with promises, this was one Jondy was determined to keep.

Max's fingers flew over the keyboard. Sunlight flashed off the gold ring on her finger. Her engagement ring looked fatter than normal. Focusing in on Max's left hand, Jondy noticed the thick gold band under the diamond ring. She looked up at Lex, who nodded. Apparently God already knew about the union and was willing to forgo the formalities. One more reason to get Logan back. The two and a half months of baby in Max's belly was another.

"You've got skills, Maxie," Syl said with a laugh as their sister quickly broke into the border patrol security system. The name of Brianna's husband, Johnny Mahoney, appeared frequently in the log. "You're better at hacking than I am."

"No records of military transports crossing within the past few days. Either they came over unconventionally, or they were here waiting for us." Max rubbed the back of her neck. "They traced us to Jace somehow. But they only grabbed the men. Logan, Krit, Zane, Victor..."

"Four men, Maxie. If they've been watching us for a while, it wouldn't be hard to figure out who belonged to which female X-5," Tawny pointed out. "The fact that you're shacking up with Eyes Only has been Manticore gossip for the past three or four years."

"Wait, Logan's Eyes Only?" Jordan interrupted. "My cousin's like the Post-Pulse version of Batman?"

"He's got an entire legion of genetically-altered soldiers at his call. He might as well be." Jondy couldn't help snickering, picturing Logan in tights. That was a place that Maxie probably didn't want her to go.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I'm gonna put the smackdown on your ass," Max warned. "Logan's got a fine ass in a pair of leather pants..." She shook her head, focusing back on the task at hand. "But Manticore didn't know that Victor was the father of Jace's baby. Unless they just planted the information to see who took the bait."

"Try this." Syl slipped the disk into the drive of the laptop. "The grunts dropped it." Taking the laptop back, she ran a virus scan over the disk before opening the file. A young woman's face filled the screen. Jondy was relieved to see that it wasn't Renfro. "God, she even looks like she's one of the Enemy."

"You learned your lessons in loyalty well," the woman said with a slick smile. Jondy wondered who died and made the obviously evil woman head of the obviously evil organization. But Manticore had never been one for originality. "We know you have the child. We're willing to make a trade, since you have what we want. Feel free to get in touch." Before the screen faded to black, a barcode appeared. It had fourteen numbers, instead of the usual Manticore twelve.

"Like Case's. Phone number." Max rummaged around in the laptop case and pulled out a small cell phone. "Secured line."

"How does Logan fund all these toys? The family fortune dried up after my father died." Jordan peered into the laptop case and pulled out an identical phone.

"His collection in fine art had to come in handy for something. And some of us actually work for a living," Max retorted. "We should probably head out about ten miles and then make the call, in case they trace the signal."

"They already know where the camp is, Maxie." Jondy rubbed her arm. There was something odd about those blades the grunts stabbed them with. They were wider than normal, with an odd groove. A blood groove, like on the old claymores of Scotland. Damn Manticore. "And for some reason, they have our tissue samples too."

"DNA workup? Didn't Lydecker say something about Tinga's blood being special?" Syl handed Jondy a strip of bandage over her shoulder. "Case and Max bred true to Manticore. Maybe that's why they want us."

Unless they only wanted one of her sisters, and they weren't sure which one. Max was studying the cell phone as if she couldn't decide what to do with it. Four X-classes roamed the North American continent and God knows where else now, thanks to the last time Maxie took down Manticore. Every now and then Max said she saw one on her travels. They didn't have the contact number the way that her brothers and sisters did. Max wasn't Zack. Her baby sister felt no need to devote her life to keeping her siblings on track. The kids needed to learn to survive. And they'd done a pretty good job of blending into the shadows after the witch hunts three years ago.

"It's me," Max finally said, still staring at the phone. "They want me. Renfro knew something about my DNA. Apparently I'm the Chosen One or some shit--like I'm the ultimate product Manticore was trying to make. No junk DNA."

"If you mean that they planned us going into heat three times a year, I'm not buying that for a dollar." Jondy leaned up against the table next to her, slipping an arm around her little sister's shoulders. "It's not your fault, Maxie."

Max pulled away, hands clutching the cell phone. "The escape was. If I didn't get the shakes that night, Eva'd still be alive. Zack's death was. If I didn't come up with the great plan to bust into Manticore again, and got shot, he'd still be alive. Logan got shot up cause I didn't wanna risk my own ass for Lauren. I coulda said something when they took Jack away. I saw Lydecker and Renfro open up his body. I saw--"

"Stop it, Maxie!" Tawny smacked the phone out of their sister's hands and shook her. "It's not your fault. I let Jack down. And you knew after Zack read that book that we were gonna bust out of Manticore. He wouldn't let us become soldiers. It's Manticore's fault that we grew up the way we did. We were never meant to stay behind the walls. They were lucky we didn't break out before then."

He sat on the table and drew Max into his lap, the same way Jondy remembered him doing with her the night before. "We make our own destinies, Maxie. Because you got the shakes that night, the Colonel was gonna let them take you away. Eva knew that. That's why she grabbed the gun. Because she died, we got out. When you attacked Manticore, you took out the entire genetics lab. They can't make more like us anymore." Tawny smiled slightly, stroking back Max's dark curls. "No more kids tortured the way we were. I've seen a couple of the X-8s. We were that small once. We didn't know what the hell was going on after we broke out. Three more generations of our brothers and sisters are gonna live life free because of you. And Logan..." He kissed the top of her head. "Logan knew what the price was when he first saw you. He told me he thought it was worth it. And now we have to bust in to wherever they've got the guys, because my niece isn't growing up without a daddy. And that's an order, soldier."

Jondy felt arms wrap around her from behind. Lex brushed a kiss against her cheek before extending his other arm to Syl. They stood together in a huddle, clinging to each other the same way they were taught, the first time Manticore threw them all together.

"Sir, yessir," Max said softly, wiping her face. Jondy's baby sister didn't cry elegantly the way some women did. Her eyes were red, her face got blotchy, and Max kept wiping her nose on the sleeve of her shirt. But at least she was smiling now. "Hand over that cell, Jordan. I've got a call I need to make.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All Logan knew was that his head was pounding. It felt like someone was banging every pot and pan in his kitchen inside his head. He didn't want to open his eyes, just because he knew that as long as he kept them closed, there was a chance that he was still free. His arms and legs could move, but that didn't mean anything. The heavy weight on his chest meant that he wasn't in the back seat of the Aztek. Max didn't weigh that much. In fact, she seemed thinner than usual. Why didn't he notice it before? She looked a lot like she had those first few weeks after Manticore, when they still couldn't touch...

With a groan, he opened his eyes. As expected, bars blocked his vision of the outside world. The weight on his chest was Krit's head. Zane was sprawled over Krit's feet, his left temple bloody. Just beyond Zane's long body, he saw Victor's crumpled form shudder and sit up.

The floor was cold cement, the walls a crumbling cinderblock. That made him feel a little better, maybe Krit or Zane could kick their way out. There were two cots latched up against the wall and a bucket in the corner. There was no door, only a series of bars across the one open wall. There was nothing special about the room outside the cell. Table, chairs, a steel door that led outside. At least his butt wasn't sore from sitting on a cold floor for however long. There were times when paralysis was a blessing. "We all awake?" 

Victor rolled over onto his back and stretched. He looked around at the cell. "Shit. They got us, didn't they?" He slammed a fist into the wall. "What about the girls?"

Krit sat up, rubbing his head. "The girls were kicking ass when I blacked out. I think they clubbed me at the base of my skull." His hand came away covered in dried blood. "Zane?"

Zane blinked his gray eyes slowly. His fingers felt along his skull the same way Krit's had. "Are my pupils dilated? I think I've got a concussion." 

He groaned as Krit took his face in his hands and looked into Zane's eyes. "Completely, big brother. They got you good."

Zane's eyes widened as he looked around the cell. His eyes shifted to the door. It looked like he was scanning the hallway beyond the glass in the doorway, the same way Max did. "It's not Manticore. We might be in San Diego. They've got us below ground, though. I can't hear anything outside the walls." 

The door to the outer room opened, and several soldiers filed in. A young woman followed behind. One soldier set up a laptop similar to Logan's, hooking it up to a nearby phone jack. "Good to see you awake, gentlemen." She was young, probably not much older than Max, but she still had a creepy Renfro-ish quality about her. "I expect to hear from your comrades in a few minutes. You were engineered to be prompt, and I don't expect that they'll fail me."

She settled into the chair, pushing her brown hair out of her brown eyes. She had the nondescript face that most federal agents tried to wear. "Apparently 452 is on the line. I thought you gentlemen might like to join in on it. 452 isn't known for her trust in the system, so you might serve as sufficient proof." A soldier leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and pointed to Logan. "I believe she'll want to talk to you..." 

The female Lex Luthor wannabe rapidly typed a command, and the sound of Max's voice filled the room. "Make your deal and make it quick, you bastard. I'm not known for my patience."

Logan chuckled. It sounded like Max's voice. No one could quite clone attitude like that.

"It's simple, 452. We wanted X-5798 and the child. A trade, the men for your sister. But since circumstances have changed a little because some of my men can't seem to differentiate between stunning and deadly force, we'll have to compromise." The woman smiled. Logan almost expected her to take a piece of kryptonite out of her jacket. "I'm sure you're already tracking down the location. They trained you well in Search and Destroy. And I know for a fact that you excelled in Escape and Evade, 452."

There was silence. He could almost see Max huddled with her brothers and sisters, trying to plot out their plan of attack. If he knew the way an X-5 thought, Jace would follow Tinga's path and sacrifice herself for her son. And knowing Max, that wouldn't be an option. It was all for one. Logan just hoped that she could pull it off. "I want proof that they're alive. All of them." It wasn't an obvious stall, but it was a nice choice on Max's part. Manticore had trained her well.

The dark-haired woman nodded towards Logan. "That would be your cue, Mr. Eyes."

Logan swallowed, trying not to croak. "I'm here, Max. We all are." Manticore's sadistic bitch smirked when his voice cracked. "I l--"

"711?"

"X-5711, reporting for duty." Krit snapped off a sarcastic salute. "3-4-1, Syl."

Logan heard a soft chuckle. "Ditto," Syl's voice said through the computer speaker.

"205?" 

Zane blinked at the woman for a moment. "Buddha will forgive you, baby sister. You know what to do." He closed his eyes again, one hand still rubbing at his temple.

"And Mr. Sanchez?"

Victor leaned forward, fists clutching the bars of the cell. "Here too, Jace." Jace didn't answer, but Logan swore he heard an odd sniffling sound. Something wasn't right at the camp. Something hadn't gone according to plan, and Manticore knew about it.

"Happy now, 452? Your men are alive and well, though whether or not they stay in that state remains to be seen." Before Max could answer, a soldier brought in a report and laid it on the table next to the dark-haired woman. As she opened the file, both Krit and Zane leaned forward against the bars with Logan, trying to get a glimpse of whatever the report said. 

"There's been a change in plans, 452. Tests on your blood sample brought some...interesting results." She shuffled through what looked like a diagram of a human body. "Dr. Renfro told you about your unique genetic situation, did she not? We suspected that X-5798 carries the same essential DNA sequence that both you and 656 do. That's why 656 was able to pass on her X-5 specific DNA to her son, and theoretically why 798's boy would be of the same X-5 caliber. But apparently, your genetic code offers far more than that. Our buyer originally wanted your sister and her child to breed his own army, but you've made it far easier for me. Your sister and her child can remain free, and I'll let your men go. I'll even release X-5205 and X-5711 even though my client is quite interested in obtaining at least one of your male siblings." She turned and smiled at Logan with the same look that the snake must have worn in Eden. 

There was a pause. "What's your price?" Max's voice was cautious. "Your friends haven't exactly honored their promises before." None of them forgot Renfro's attempt to grab Case and Tinga. Lydecker cursed her name with his dying breath, because Renfro's death hadn't been nearly the torture that the bitch deserved.

"Yourself, 452. You, and everything you carry within you. You still have several months to go, apparently, but I believe our buyer is willing to wait." Logan shuddered as the woman's smile widened. "I'll expect your answer within the hour, 452. With your tracking skill, you won't have problems finding us. And when you come, you will come alone, or else we shoot one of your men for every one of your sisters that you bring with you. And we start with Eyes Only."

"Fucking bitch," Max growled. "I'm gonna rip your fingers off and feed them to you, one by one."

"An hour, 452. And thank you for the suggestion. We might have to use that as retaliation on your brothers." With the click of one key, the woman hung up. She stood and made her way towards Logan, report still in hand. "She didn't tell you, did she? If she did, I doubt you would have let her come. Although it would explain the ring." The woman nodded towards Logan's left hand. "The old psych profiles done on the X-5s speculated on how they would adapt to outside life. Some of the doctors didn't think they would form bonds outside of those with their squadron. But most people underestimated the X-5 series. Especially the Gillette facility class." There were rumors of other Manticore facilities. At least Logan had proof now that these places once existed. "Victor can attest to that, can't you?" 

Victor rejoined the three of them leaning against the bars. "So you were next in line after White kicked it. Who'd you sleep with, Erica? Unless Renfro planted you in with us to make sure we didn't get any information we weren't supposed to have."

"You know I didn't sleep with an X-5 like you did. Though apparently White was tempted." Erica turned her oily smile on Logan again. "She's a beautiful specimen, Mr. Eyes. Funding cutbacks after the '09 escape made Manticore a little less picky about the genetic material they had to work with. It shows in the later series. None of them were made with quite the perfection of the X-5s. Colonel Lydecker had an eye for beauty. Your child should be no exception."

And in the back of his mind, Logan heard Max's voice as she touched his hand to her stomach. _Wanna kitten?_

Logan lunged out against the bars, grabbing Erica by the neck. "I'll kill you," he warned. "If you touch her, I'll kill you. If you don't touch her, I'll try not to leave anything left for her brothers and sisters to play with."

One of the guards ran up, shoving the butt of his rifle into Logan's gut and pushing him away. He relaxed his grip on the woman's throat as he stumbled to the floor. Krit automatically crouched in a guard position in front of him, dark eyes glaring with an eerie similarity to Max. If Max's DNA was perfect, wouldn't that mean that Krit...? 

Erica smiled. "Two hours, Mr. Eyes. Then we should have a nice little family reunion." And with an exit as slick as something Lex Luthor might have done, the head of Manticore left the room, his guards trailing behind him.

Logan slumped against the wall, one arm still cradling his gut. Shit. A baby. Max was pregnant. Max was pregnant, and getting ready to bust into a secured facility in order to rescue him and her brothers. Max was going to have his baby. A little girl, named Sara after his mother, or Tinga or Brin or Syl or Jondy... A baby that she was bringing to Manticore.

"Logan?"

He turned his face to the wall. Max knew and hadn't told him. She'd willingly gone into danger knowing that she carried his child. And now she had to make a choice between herself and her family. Logan remembered the last time she was faced with a choice like that. He didn't want to remember the look on her face when she told him how she chose Alec's life over finding a cure for their virus.

Valerie first started drinking when they found out they couldn't have a child. With his spinal injury, Logan never thought that it would ever be an issue, especially with Max only fertile a few times a year. 

"A baby." Fucking Manticore. He could almost hear his chance at a family being flushed away.


	6. If You Want Me To

Chapter 6: If You Want Me To  
  
A/N: Thanks, as always, to my beta, Laura. She's suffered through a lot with this story. *g* One more chapter, and then the epilogue. And then this thing will be done, thank god... Sorry for the massive amount of time between chapter five and six. The action scene gave me issues...  
  
To recap, Max, Logan, and some X-5s learned that Manticore was after Jace and her son Max. Before they leave for Mexico to warn Jace, Max learns she's pregnant, but neglects to tell Logan. Once they reach Mexico, there's an ambush, and Logan, Krit, Zane, and Jace's old love Victor the lab tech are captured. Max has to turn over herself and her unborn child in order to save them...  
  
The pathway is broken  
  
The signs are unclear  
  
I can't find the reason why you brought me here  
  
But just because you love me the way that you do  
  
I will go through the valley  
  
If you want me to  
  
Now I'm not who I was  
  
When I took my first step  
  
And I'm clinging to the promise  
  
You're not through with me yet  
  
And if all of these trials bring me closer to you  
  
I will go through the fire  
  
If you want me to  
  
It may not be the way I would have chosen  
  
'Cause it leads me through a world that's not my home  
  
But you never said it would be easy  
  
Only that I'll never go alone  
  
When the whole world turns against me  
  
And I'm all by myself  
  
And I can't hear you answer my cries for help  
  
I'll remember the suffering your love put you through  
  
And I will go through the valley  
  
If you want me to  
  
--If You Want Me To, Ginny Owens  
  
"You can't go alone, Maxie." Jondy stood in front of her, arms crossed. Tawny and Syl stood behind her, mimicking her stance. "You know what they'll do to you."  
  
Maybe that was the problem. She knew what Manticore would do to her. Small, dark places still scared the shit out of her. But this was Logan's life, and her brothers' lives, and Victor... "You heard what that bitch said she'd do to them. I've gotta get them out." Max wrapped her arms around her waist, feeling very small and very young. Tinga had to make this choice--her baby's life, or her own. And they all knew what happened to Tinga. "It's not my life this time, Jondy. If it was Zack--"  
  
Before Max knew it, Jondy had her pinned against the side of the Aztek, her sister's hands at her throat. There was no love in Jondy's blue eyes, only years and years of hurt. "It was Zack. And he did it to save your ass." Jondy's strong hands began to close around her throat, cutting off her intake of air. It didn't matter. Max could hold her breath forever. She did it under the ice for almost seven minutes after the escape. Her field of vision narrowed until all she could see were her big sister's eyes, inches from her own. "That's the reason why he never answered the contact number. He was at Manticore when I miscarried, because he couldn't let the woman he loved go back to that hellhole." Jondy's blue eyes darkened in anger. "Just cause someone got careless let Lydecker see enough of her face to put up wanted posters for her."  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Max could see Syl lunging forward. Tawny stepped in front of her, motioning to let them play it out. Maybe this was shit that had to be said before they could go forward. She didn't ask Zack to love her. It would have been a lot less complicated if he didn't. And there were choices that Max never wanted to make when it came to Zack--to Adam. "I just wanted a big brother," she choked out, her eyes searching Jondy's. "You could've left me at Manticore. I didn't give Eva the gun." But Ben... Ben was her fault. And Logan's virus. Was this how Zack felt about Brin? They promised to get her out. No X-5 was good at keeping his promises.  
  
Jondy shook her head, face crumpling. "I couldn't leave you. You're my baby sister, not a nomalie. Blood brothers. We promised." Another promise broken. "Dammit, Maxie, I saw you fall through the ice every night for the past eleven years. And then when Zack finally got around to telling me you were alive, he wouldn't let me go to you, and then he--" She swallowed what sounded like a sob. "Fuck, Maxie. Everything we try they mess up. We're not gonna let them win. They can't win this time." Her grip on Max's throat loosened. "I'm not losing you again. I'm not gonna let them kill us off one by one just because they wanna play God." Jondy chuckled through her tears. "Zack's ghost would kick my ass if I let anything happen to his baby sister."  
  
"I think he'd try to kick Logan's first." Max attempted a smile as she wiped Jondy's face with a blood-stained sleeve. "And then Victor's, for knocking up Jace. And then Krit's, for putting the moves on Syl..."  
  
"Jordan's, cause he knows what kind of underwear Jondy wears," Tawny added. His golden eyes looked suspiciously bright, but Max knew that none of her brothers would ever admit to crying. Soldiers didn't cry. Emotion was a weakness that only let your Enemies know exactly how to break you.  
  
"Robert hit on me too." Jondy's hands relaxed and her arms fell back to her sides. Max caught at her sister's small hands, squeezing them as Jondy turned to glare at Jordan. "You Cales shouldn't be allowed out in public, trying to take advantage of women in their weak moments."  
  
Jordan choked. Max couldn't tell if he was scared shitless, or just stunned. Jondy had a good effect on Logan's youngest cousin. Maybe it was something she should pursue after all...  
  
"Back to the mission guys. We can't forget the mission. We need to disable their tracking system." Syl's eyes almost gleamed in anticipation. "If we take it out..." She pulled out a sheet of paper, sketching a plan for a decoy set-up using Max as bait. Max nodded. It was a sound plan that had the best chance of working, if they could hack into the surveillance system and find out where Manticore was hiding the men.  
  
"Shoulda gotten those comm links. Maybe Krit..." she heard Tawny mutter as he started rummaging through a bag in the back of the Jeep. "Why couldn't they give us useful animal DNA with longer-range communication capabilities? Found 'em!"  
  
Her older brother held up six transistor headsets in triumph.  
  
"Or we need a few of the X-7s. Lydecker said they were hive-minded." Max would never forget meeting her X-7 self. X-7452's eyes were completely soulless and dead. She had vague memories of someone telling her once that X-5s weren't supposed to know how to love, but somehow she thought Manticore took the lack of human emotion too far with the X-7s. "Or some bat in our cocktails. They could've at least given us telepathy or something useful." She rubbed at the back of her neck. Lydecker found her easily enough that one time, thanks to the fried implant in her neck. "Don't we have tracking devices? I thought you or Zane always carried that crack, Syl."  
  
"What's wrong, little sister?" Syl dragged Max forward, pushing her hair off her neck. Max could feel her sister's fingers rub up against her barcode as Syl found the puckered scar just below it. "What the hell's in your neck, Maxie? Tawny, you were best at field med. Think you could pull this thing out?"  
  
Max could feel her brother's breath as he bent over her neck. "What is it?" There was a pause as he leaned in for a closer look. "Shit, Maxie! Where the hell did you get a neural implant?" She felt a slight probe at the pucker of the scar and then a rush of pain lanced through her body. Max gritted her teeth. "Lemme see the first aid kit."  
  
"It's an implant for the Red series--ups their adrenaline and crap. Had to use it to fight against them." Max found herself facing four incredulous looks from her brothers and sisters. "They had my girl! I couldn't let 'em kill her. Their asses had to be kicked." She shook her hair down again, covering the scar. "Manticore used some trace program to find me because the little bitch is made of some weird-ass metal alloy." She could almost see the moment of realization in her brothers' and sisters' faces. "That's how Manticore found me this time, isn't it?"  
Syl pulled Max forward again, pushing aside her hair to examine Max's neck. "We gotta get it out Maxie. Tawny, you were the best at field med...you do it."  
  
Five minutes later, Max found herself on her stomach on the picnic table, her face buried in Jondy's thigh. Her arms were wrapped around Jondy's waist. Max hoped that she didn't squeeze her sister in half. Jondy's fingers wound themselves through Max's curls, twisting her hair up out of the way. It felt weird to have her neck exposed to the world. It didn't help that she'd seen the scalpel that Tawny was going to use to cut the implant out...  
  
"This is probably gonna hurt, Maxie," Tawny warned. No shit. It wasn't like she forgot what it felt like to have 10,000 volts of electricity zapped into the back of her neck. Hopefully it wouldn't be as bad as getting her barcode removed... Max breathed deep, trying to find that place of Zen that Zane always talked about when he was hurt. The Colonel taught them how to go into a trance-like state when they were being tortured. For the first time in her life, Max was at least partially thankful for her fucked up childhood.  
  
She breathed in and out deeply and controlled. Max could feel Jondy slow her breathing so that their lungs worked in tandem. In and out. In and out. The trance was easy to fall into. Max used to use it to trick herself into sleeping at night sometimes, when she was bored. It was a familiar gray place that she knew far too well from childhood.  
  
"Easy, Tawn." Voices echoed oddly in the gray place. It was almost like what happened when she drank three bottles of wine, and got tunnel-hearing. "If you cut above--"  
  
Pain. Sharp pain shot through her spine as something touched the neural implant in her neck. Max felt hands rubbing her shoulders, trying to relax her tensing muscles. "Easy, Maxie. It'll be over soon."  
  
The gray place was fading until all Max was aware of was the pain. Pain that hurt worse than a laser aimed at her iris for four hours straight. Pain that hurt worse than her legs after being cramped into a two-foot tall space for a week at Manticore. Pain that hurt almost as bad as recovery from a bullet through the heart.  
  
"Ease up, soldier. It's almost over." The phrase was Zack's, even if the voice wasn't. Soldiers didn't cry. Soldiers didn't show weakness. She was a brave soldier who would make her CO proud of her, and someday, she'd even make the Colonel smile--  
  
"Got it!" Something stung against the back of her neck as one of her brothers doused the incision with disinfectant. Max felt a hand hold a bandage against the cut. "You can come up for air now, Maxie." Looking up, she saw the little metal bitch lying in Tawny's hand. Small as it was, the metal neural implant still looked evil. If it hadn't been for Logan frying the shit out of it...  
  
"That's what the South Africans were working on?" Syl picked it up, examining it closely. "Can I keep it, Tawny?" Max noticed Jordan gag at that.  
  
"All set, baby sister." Jondy finished taping up the bandage and then looked at the sun. "It's been at least half an hour, Maxie. You should call them back." Looking around at her brothers and sisters, they all nodded a quick affirmative.  
  
Jordan handed her the cell phone, his face pale. "If you'll excuse me..." he muttered, stalking over to the bushes. Max's siblings turned their backs to him to give him some privacy. The whole situation reminded Max of an X-6 who'd once picked the name Ralph because she had the same kind of weak stomach.  
  
Settling herself back on the picnic table, she dialed the number with shaking hands.  
  
" 452." The chill in the woman's voice made shivers run up Max's spine.  
  
Drawing on years of training, Max tried to close off her mind and her heart. "Where are we making the trade?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Mr. Eyes." Logan snapped back to reality only to find himself face to face with Erica. "452 is on her way. Apparently she values your life higher than hers and your child." The woman's face creased in a smile. Logan lunged out against the bars again, only to find a rifle butt shoved against his chest. Krit and Zane each grabbed him by an elbow, dragging him further back into the cell. The woman chuckled. "Do you really think we believe 452 would give you up without a fight? We're prepared, Mr. Eyes. If things go according to plan, we'll have an entire squadron of X-5s to send to our buyer, instead of just one and her unborn child."  
  
"Do you really think that you'll get away with this?" Years of being a cable hack took over. If Logan pretended that this was just another broadcast, he could hide behind Eyes Only and avoid thinking about the mess. "You haven't managed to keep an X-5 since Tinga, and that's only because you turned her own sister against her. You won't win."  
  
"Admit that you fucked up when you trained us." Zane's voice was quiet, but it carried even in the small room. "Lydecker knew. You made us unbreakable. You taught us the only thing that saved us." The blond X-5 moved forward til he towered over Erica. Though his hair fell into his eyes, his face was cold. It was a soldier's face--the face of a man who was created to perform, act, and kill.  
  
Erica was silent. Her face lost a bit of its composure, and Logan heard the soft sound of Krit's chuckle behind him. "Take that, bitch," Max's little brother muttered as he came to flank Logan and Zane. "You'll pay for all the shit you put us through."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I'm not staying here!" Jondy tried not to laugh as Jordan actually stomped his foot against the dirt. "They've got my cousin, and there's no way in hell I'm playing babysitter here while you go and get him out."  
  
"You'll die. This isn't some stupid video game. It's war." Max crossed her arms and did a really good impression of a Zack glare. If Jondy hadn't known what the original looked like, she would've been impressed. Her baby sister was still an impressive figure in her own right. "We've been playing this shit since before we can remember, Jordan. Stop being a macho man and get in the real. You. Can't. Go."  
  
Jordan opened his mouth as Tawny snickered. "Not bad, baby sister. Not bad at all." Tawny slung an arm around Jordan's shoulders, an apologetic look on his face. "She's right, Jor. This is what we were made for."  
  
"I'll stay," Lex spoke up from where he sat with little Max in his lap. Jondy looked at her brother in surprise. "It makes more sense to have one of us here. I'm not as crack as Zane is at getting into a security system, but I didn't fail telecom like some people." Jondy laughed as Lex shot a look at Tawny.  
  
"The bitch wants Maxie there in an hour. If we ditch the Jeep about a mile off, we could probably break in..." Jondy looked at where Syl sat with Logan's laptop. "Got anything on the facility yet?"  
  
"Almost..." Syl pounded a few keys. "Got it!" Jondy peered over her sister's shoulder. The laptop's screen showed a satellite visual of a long, low building. It looked typically nondescript and abandoned--the perfect hideout for a para-military organization. With a few more keystrokes, the picture magnified, zooming in on an almost hidden entrance. "If we go in here..."  
  
"We don't know how many soldiers she has though," Lex pointed out. "I know you kick ass, baby sister, but four X-5s can't take on an entire squadron."  
  
Jondy laughed. "Wanna bet?" Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. She could feel the old sense of exhilaration thrilling through her veins. The adrenaline was definitely starting to kick in. As much as she hated to admit it, Jondy would always love preparing for battle. It was what she was made for. And from the looks on her brothers' and sisters' faces, Jondy knew that the others felt the same way. It felt right somehow. And somehow, Jondy knew that they would've made Lydecker proud.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max drove alone in Zane's Jeep. The others followed behind in Krit's, taking an alternate route. If Manticore remembered any of the lessons they taught the X-5s, Erica the scumbitch would realize that Max would never hand over her baby without a fight. No true soldier would. At least she could wear her black cat suit again. It didn't seem right to sneak in and kick Manticore ass without the spandex. It was just another heist for a slightly more valuable object--one that she wouldn't fence for any amount of money.  
  
It was easy enough to find the installation. Scanning the area around the low building, Max could see evidence of her siblings hiding out. Tawny never did learn to pull up his legs when he was hiding in a tree. Luckily, the others were all in full camouflage.  
  
There were no soldiers at the gate. That wasn't too surprising. Manticore didn't exactly want to upset the local government, and a secure military installation was a little suspicious. From the looks of the place, the building seemed like a temporary holding facility. Manticore usually separated itself from the outside world with acres of fence and barb-wire. At least she didn't have to jump anything this time.  
  
Pretending to consult her watch, Max used the glass face to reflect three brief beams into the trees on the outskirts of the property. The others were linked by radios. If any of the guards caught her wired for cable TV, that would arouse immediate suspicion. Rule number one was to always keep your cover. Rule number too was to never forget your cool.  
  
"X-5452." A guard stepped out from the building, waving her over with his rifle. Two of his thug brothers flanked him. All three wore Kevlar, but they moved with the speed and agility of tanks. At least Manticore hadn't gotten over its love for thick-headed, thicker-bodied meatheads as guards. They looked sturdy, but Max knew she could kick their asses before they even realized they were being attacked.  
  
"X-5452 reporting in, sir!" She snapped a salute. At least it was second nature now to give anyone in uniform her soldier face. She made a kick-ass poker player. And the only one better at lying was Jondy.  
  
"This way." Head Honcho Guard made his first mistake, turning his back so that she could follow him into the installation. At least Manticore taught the guards to automatically flank the prisoner. The two remaining bozos gave her a quick pat-down, but one let his hands wander a little further south than she liked.  
  
"That's gonna cost you, GI Joe. I don't let just anyone feel me up." Max resisted the urge to kick him in the nuts.  
  
Once the guards were convinced she wasn't packing, they led her down a maze of corridors. From the inside, it looked even more like a temporary base. Manticore didn't even have a visible security system set up. At least it would be that much easier for her brothers and sisters. Hopefully Jordan wouldn't cause too many problems...  
  
Keeping a careful count of the turns they took, Max wasn't surprised when she was finally led into a windowless office deep inside the building. This place might have been a base once, or even an old police station when the law actually had a say out here. It was shoddy work though. They didn't even use steel beams to reinforce the cinderblock walls. It wouldn't take that long to bust out.  
  
"X-5452." A dark-haired woman sat behind a laptop in the center of the room. The woman had the same non-descriptness that Manticore seemed to like in its villains. This one actually made Ames White seem personable and engaging.  
  
"Manticore bitch." Max saluted the woman, smiling slightly. Being a pain in the ass usually threw the baddies. They didn't have much imagination, especially if they were the result of a three-millennia breeding program.  
  
The woman actually chuckled. "Renfro mentioned that you have a sense of humor. She said you have a fondness for daring her to kiss your transgenic ass..."  
  
Max smirked at the woman. "So I'm here. Where are my boys?" She watched the woman carefully, noting that the Manticore bitch was careful to keep her hands visible at all times.  
  
The woman's eyes narrowed. She looked to one of the guards that still flanked Max, and when the guard nodded, she began to smile. "So you actually came alone, unbugged, and unarmed? I'm astonished. I thought Lydecker taught you better than that."  
  
"I've gotten by pretty well ignoring everything the Colonel said so far." Max shrugged. "Your turn to keep your end of the bargain. I want my men."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"She's in." Tawny's voice was soft over the comm. link. "They gave her a pat-down. I think one of the guards grabbed Maxie's ass."  
  
Jondy snorted. "She shoulda kicked him in the nuts. So where's this magical entrance that we can use?" She looked over the low wall she and Jordan were crouched behind on the south perimeter of the property.  
  
Lex exhaled deeply. "Check at nine o'clock, little sister. It isn't marked, but you can see the outline. Syl might have to jury-rig it open."  
  
Syl's chuckle echoed through the earpiece. "Too bad Zane isn't here to help. He's better at jimmying open locks than I am. Whatcha wanna bet he's already got the cell door open?"  
  
"With his toes. Brother-man's got mad skills." Jondy motioned over her shoulder for Jordan to follow her. "Going silent until it's a 911. Everybody remember the plan?" She could almost see the silent nods that her siblings gave from their hideouts around the perimeter. After three affirmative grunts and Jordan nodding from behind her, Jondy took a deep breath. "Fall out, troops."  
  
Looking over the wall again, Jondy saw that the empty stretch in front of the building was clear. With another wave at Jordan, she took off at a lope, keeping low to the ground. Syl didn't pick up much radio static, and she hadn't been able to hack into a security network, so the technology out here was either beyond her sister's skill, or lacking by far. Jondy preferred to think it was the second scenario, but you couldn't be too careful. It wasn't like this was a game, not when her brothers' lives were at stake.  
  
Keeping a constant watch, Jondy reached the door easily, Jordan so close behind her that he stepped on her heels a few times. The boy could keep up pretty well, even if he wasn't genetically engineered. There was something kinda vulnerable and cuddly about him too, even though Jondy didn't usually go for that sort of thing. He was a pretty boy, but there was nothing wrong with that either. It just made it a little difficult to concentrate with a blue-eyed pretty boy breathing down her neck.  
  
"Back off," she muttered at him as she assessed the entry. It was an old grate lying across the ground, leading to a sewer system or basement, probably. From the smell, it seemed clean. It was easy enough to finagle the latch open. Jondy flipped down and landed. The concrete was solid and dry beneath her feet. "Okay?"  
  
Jordan grunted as he landed beside her. He might be fast, but Grace wasn't his middle name. He barely moved out of the way in time before Tawny landed beside him. Syl followed, as silently as Tawny.  
  
Ready? Jondy motioned. Her brother and sister nodded. With a quick scan, Jondy noticed that a tunnel ran perpendicular to the corridor they were in. One short branch led out towards where the main entrance was, and the other ran deeper into the building. Tawny pointed to the southern corridor, heading further into the complex. Pointing to himself and Syl, and then to Jondy and Jordan, he motioned for them to split two and two and head down the corridor. Syl looked to Jondy and nodded. Her sister patted the ammo belt she wore across her chest, a slight smile on her face. Jondy couldn't help feeling sorry for the bastards that took Krit. No one messed with an X-5 and survived, especially not where it concerned family.  
  
Syl and Tawny moved down the corridor first at a quick run. When they reached the first bend in the corridor, Jondy tugged at Jordan's sleeve, pulling him along behind her. They had the radio if they needed to contact each other. She only hoped that if her brother and sister reached Logan and everyone else first, they left a piece of that Manticore bitch for Jondy.  
  
Out of the corner of her eyes, Jondy noticed Jordan looking about with a scared look on his face as they moved down the corridor. She wondered if he could see anything at all, since he didn't have night vision like the rest of them. She reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a quick squeeze. He gave her a slight smile in return, but didn't let go of her hand. She didn't mind too much. Jordan Cale was pretty brave to come this far as it was.  
  
They reached another crossroads. From the chalk mark on the right branch of the tunnel, Jondy knew that Tawny and Syl took that tunnel. That left the other to her and Jordan. This way, she motioned, tugging at his hand. He gave her a blank look, but followed anyway. His free hand clutched the gun strapped to his hip. It was too early to tell if Jordan would be more of a liability than a help, but it was still nice not to be alone. She spent far too much time pulling solo missions.  
  
There was a light ahead. Jondy pulled Jordan with her as she edged under the grate in the ceiling, keeping as close to the wall as possible. Zooming in, she couldn't see many signs of traffic in the hallway above. Pushing Jordan to his knees, she put one foot into his outstretched hand for a leg up. Jordan lifted her easily. Maybe there was actual muscle on that pretty-boy frame of his. Logan was built the same way, and he wasn't exactly a weakling. There were no sounds of traffic from the hallway above. The hallway itself looked dark and unused. This might be the perfect way to sneak in.  
  
"Found a way in. Moving up to stage two." Jondy kept her voice low, knowing a whisper would carry farther in the quiet hallway.  
  
"Affirmative," came Tawny's voice. Then the comm. link was silent again.  
  
Fumbling at her belt, she extracted a screwdriver and made quick work of the bolts that held the grate to the ceiling. Grasping the edge of the grate with one hand, she motioned for Jordan to drop her with the other. The grate swung open without a sound, buffered from hitting the wall with her hand. Jordan's blue eyes widened, but he didn't say anything but offer her a hand for another leg up.  
  
"You're going first, buddy." With a quick grin, she bent and grabbed Jordan around the waist, lifting him up to where he could grab the edge of the hole. With a boost, he was able to scramble through. Jondy ignored the hand he held down to her, jumping up lightly to grab at the lip of the hole and swing her way up. Again, Jordan had a stunned look of admiration on his face. He wasn't such a bad guy when he was quiet.  
  
They kept to the edges of the walls as they crept down the hallway. Jondy could hear some noise further in, but nothing came from nearby. With a wave, she motioned for Jordan to move a little faster.  
  
The compound had the usual military layout. The cinderblock walls and fluorescent lights gave Jondy a weird sense of deja-vu. Jordan's presence so close on her heels did nothing to break the illusion that this was the night of the escape again. This time, Lydecker wasn't here. This time, one of them wouldn't die.  
  
"Jondy?" Syl's voice echoed in her ear. "Stage two."  
  
"Be careful, little sisters." Lex's quiet voice sounded calm, but Jondy could still hear the slight tremble in it. Lex had always been one of the calm ones, like Zane. Maybe it was that whole faith thing.  
  
"Jondy?" Jordan tugged at her hand. "What are we--"  
  
But before she could answer, footsteps started down the hallway. "Shit." Before she could turn to run, Jordan tugged at her hand again.  
  
"Wait, I think we can--"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Shit." Logan looked up as Zane muttered under his breath. He couldn't blame Zane's choice of words. Jondy walked in, hands in chains, a guard moving her along with a cattle prod.  
  
"I found this one in the hallway, sir." The new guard's hat was pulled low over his eyes, but there was something familiar about his voice. "452 didn't come alone. She brought 210 with her."  
  
The first guard, sitting on a chair facing the cell, nodded. "Good work, soldier. Put her in with the others."  
  
"Do you really think that's a good idea, sir?" The second guard took the keys his comrade tossed him and pushed Jondy none too gently towards the cell. There was a bruise on her cheek, and it looked like her lip was split. Her face didn't look too happy either. "The X-5s aren't even chained to the wall. Keeping two of them together in the cell like that, loose, is asking for trouble."  
  
The first soldier stood and paced around the new one, peering closely at him. "Which squadron are you from, soldier? I want your name and rank."  
  
There was a moment of tense silence. "Some call me...Tim?" Before Logan could blink, Jondy broke out of the chains and knocked the first guard over the back of the head. He dropped to the floor with a thump. Grabbing the keys from the second soldier, she quickly unlocked the door.  
  
"Thanks, Private Cale." Jondy gave the second soldier a grin as he tugged off his hat. Logan stifled a groan as his youngest cousin grinned at Jondy.  
  
"Private? I'd be at least a sergeant."  
  
Jondy snorted. "Not in my squadron. My nephew could kick your ass, and he's only eight." She unlocked the door with flourish, holding it open. "Tawny bet you'd have this place already busted up, Zane. You're losing your touch, big brother."  
  
"I was just waiting to show off for you, little sister." Zane leaned in to kiss her lightly as he reached for the unconscious guard's gun. "Maxie in?"  
  
"Syl and Tawny went looking for her." Jondy grabbed Krit as he walked by, giving him the same light kiss to the lips. "That's from Syl."  
  
Krit grinned. Logan couldn't help noticing the relieved look on his cousin's face. Jordan and Jondy would certainly make an interesting combination... But then the meaning of Jondy's words sunk in. "That woman has Max?" Max, and their child. His child.  
  
Each X-5 paused. Logan noticed the looks they exchanged, from blue eyes to gray to brown. "If anyone can take care of herself, it's Maxie," Krit said finally as he strapped on the guard's spare pistol. With a quick gesture, he exchanged his camo shirt for that of the unconscious guard, being careful to bind the man's wrists together again when he was done. "She's gotten out of Manticore twice and managed to burn the place down. She'll make it." But in his voice, Logan heard the same doubt from earlier in the afternoon.  
  
"Lex? Got the worm. Moving out." Jondy motioned for her brothers to gather around. Jordan hung back on the outside until Jondy actually waved him forward. This time, her hands moved slower, and she actually leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Got the plan?" The three men nodded, while Victor just hung back at Logan's shoulder. Logan was glad that he wasn't the only one who felt lost and confused. X-5s always managed to remind him of how vulnerable and human he really was. At least the exoskeleton still worked. Moving forward a step, Logan was comforted by the slight whirring noise the suit made.  
  
Without warning, the three X-5s moved towards him and Victor, chaining their wrists. "Trust me, Logan. We'll get you out." Jondy's blue eyes were worried as she fastened the chains about his wrists. "Just...trust me." Standing beside him, Krit and Jordan chained her, and then Zane, being careful to leave Zane with enough chain to reach the gun hidden in the waistband of his pants.  
  
"Move out, troops." Krit's voice was solemn as he jammed the unconscious guard's cap over his eyes. "We got a bitch to take down."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max watched the woman warily as she moved to press a button on the computer. "Bring the men in, Johnson." A man's voice echoed over the computer speaker in an affirmative. As they waited, the Manticore bitch waved to the free chair, nodding to the guard beside her. "Take a seat, 452. I won't bite, even though according to the files some of your brothers do."  
  
Max smirked. "The Colonel tried to break Zane of the habit, but it never worked." Keeping a careful eye on the guard, she leaned up against the wall. "So why all this shit? Didn't you guys learn your lesson the last time? I thought White's little freak brigade took the rest of you out for defiling the natural order of breeding programs or some shit."  
  
"When your Eyes Only broadcast the address of the Seattle facility, it hit the Council hard, but Manticore still has a few powerful investors." Erica settled back in her chair, scanning whatever was on her laptop monitor. "One investor showed an interest in training his own...squadron... to protect his interests. His local government has lost some stability over the past four years, and he doesn't want to be caught in a bind. He got in contact with what remained of the Council, and since we knew that 798 and 656 had progeny, we figured that that would be the easiest way to alleviate our problem, and aid our investor." The woman's smile widened. "The possibility of your pregnancy never factored into the equation. Our investor will be more than pleased. He'd expressed special interest in you, from what Dr. Sandeman mentioned in his early reports."  
  
"Sandeman?" Even after three years, Max still hadn't unraveled the mystery of Father. Her one memory of him was dim, and Joshua wasn't much help. But if she never learned the real 411 on Father, it wasn't that big a dealio. The virus bitch was kicked, and White's freak brigade was pretty well vanquished, from what they could tell. This Manticore investor had to go down though. It wasn't safe if he knew she was alive, or that her baby existed.  
  
But before the Manticore bitch could say anything further, a guard came running into the room. "The X-5s escaped, Ms. Harrison. Maxwell's passed out on the floor, and his guns are missing. One of the other men said that another woman joined the men, probably 210."  
  
Erica turned, a deadly look in her cold eyes. "Your years since the escape have softened you, 452. I told you to come alone." At her slight nod, the guard to her left advanced on Max. Before he could reach for his gun, she dodged towards him, grabbing his gun arm and pulling it behind his back until it snapped.  
  
"I'll kill him. You know how fast you created us to be." But as she spoke, Max felt cold metal press to the back of her neck. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the second guard standing next to her, gun drawn. "You won't win. While any X-5 lives, we'll still kick your ass."  
  
"Only if you survive this, 452. You still have to make it out of this alive, and if I'm not mistaken, we already got one of your sisters."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They moved quickly down the hallway. The hallways were deserted, and the silence was getting to Jondy. It was all she could do not to break into a run. She had to get to Maxie. Apparently Logan had the same feeling, since it was all her brothers could do to keep him from charging ahead.  
  
"J?" Tawny's voice echoed over the comm. link. "Management knows the brothers are loose. We're heading towards the water tower from the munitions shed."  
  
That meant north from the southwest quadrant back at Manticore. She doubted she could've thought to use old Manticore landmarks to keep from giving away their position. "We're coming up on the X-6 barracks. No resistance so far." It sounded like they weren't too far away.  
  
"Maxie's in the genetics lab. How's Krit?" Syl spoke in her usual composed voice. It took a lot to ruffle her little sister. Jondy couldn't help feeling a little bit of pride.  
  
As they moved around the corner, Jondy grinned slightly at her littlest brother. "Baby brother's fine, little sister."  
  
She could hear the echoes of footsteps coming from around the next corner. Her brothers immediately froze, falling into a ready position. The footsteps were light, but that didn't mean that they were X-5s. Manticore trained its guards to step lightly. They learned their lesson the hard way after '09. Two figures stealthed around the corner, but it was easy enough to recognize the long blond braid of the woman, and the bleached out tips of the dark-haired man.  
  
"Syl." Krit's low voice carried across the hallway. Her little sister looked up, a smile on her face. She didn't rush forward into Krit's arms, but Syl did reach out to grab their brother's hand. Jondy thought she saw her sister's fingers flash the numbers 3, 4, and 1. It was the same thing that Krit had said to Syl on the phone earlier. Looking back, Jondy could actually remember them saying it occasionally at Manticore--before bed, when Syl had a nightmare... 3 4 1. Probably their secret code or something.  
  
"Where's Jace?" Victor pushed forward. "I thought she was with Syl and Tawny."  
  
Jondy noticed that her brothers and sister all averted their eyes. The news could wait. "She's back at camp with Max and Lex," she said. It was the truth, but it still took all of Jondy's strength not to flinch as she said it. Victor looked like he bought the news, but she didn't want to be the one who told him the truth after they all got out of here.  
  
Tawny motioned quickly for them to move on. Jordan actually nodded as if he got what the gesture meant. Granted, it wasn't that hard. The past twenty-four hours had actually done wonders on Jordan Cale--not that Jondy could even make a fair assessment of his personality without further evaluation. Not that she'd mind making that further evaluation... She groaned as Syl and Tawny fell in beside them. All she needed was for her heat to kick in again.  
  
Since the guards already knew they were coming, Jondy and Zane quickly rid themselves of the shackles. She gave Logan a slight smile as his chains fell free from his hands. "Toldja," was all she whispered before moving back to the head of the column. Her brothers and sisters spread out, keeping Logan and Victor in the middle. Syl and Tawny had somehow been conned into handing the two men spare guns. Jondy'd only shook her head when Syl offered her one. She wasn't as phobic as Maxie, but that still didn't mean she felt comfortable holding a firearm. Memories of live ordinance drill still haunted her at night. They all had one memory or another from Manticore that was like that.  
  
It wasn't long before they came to a single door at the end of a hallway. This door was actually steel, and the walls reinforced with thick steel girders. Maybe this sect of Manticore wasn't as composed of dumbasses as they'd originally thought. Zane and Syl automatically moved to the door, quickly checking the frame for any hint of a power source. From the grin on her sister's face, Jondy knew Syl found something. Syl's nimble fingers pried the face plate off the wall, giving Zane access to the wiring within. Zane stared at the wires forever before he took out his knife and began cutting. Her brother was slow, but he knew what he was doing. They all still remembered what happened when Zane hurried and made mistakes. Syl had a burn inside her left elbow from the last time Zane fumbled on disarming wires. Jondy rubbed her fingers against the burn scar on her palm. It was almost fifteen years old, but it still hadn't faded. At least she and Syl hadn't needed skin grafts like  
Jen...  
  
After a lifetime of waiting, Jondy heard the soft whirring of motors within the walls. Her brothers and sisters immediately flattened against both sides of the hallway as the door slid open. Jondy positioned herself so that she could jump in front of Logan if she had to. There was no telling how many guards were in there. Or what state Maxie was in...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Max heard the door before the guard and Erica did. Training taught her to stay focused on the gun at her neck, and on watching the Manticore Bitch's hands. The first guard was incapacitated, but that still didn't mean that she didn't have to watch him too. But if Erica didn't notice the door opening... Just as long as whoever was beyond the door was the cavalry arriving.  
  
"If you kill me, you lose. You don't know where Case is, and by now, Max is already 100 miles away." She didn't mean to say anything significant or even earth-shattering, but it was enough to occupy the Manticore Bitch's mind.  
  
"There are others. We know that most of the released transgenics settled around the Seattle and Vancouver areas. I'm sure some of the X-6s have reproduced by now. Several of the older ones were already being used in the breeding program before the escape." A slow smile crossed the older woman's face. "Ames White's notes will also come in handy. I'm sure we could work out a deal with the South Africans. Their first series of transgenics are still toddlers, but that might serve just as well. There are always other options, 452." Erica nodded to the guard behind Max. "Kill her. We can still harvest the--"  
  
There was a crunch as the door was shoved open. Apparently whoever was on the other side hadn't thought it was moving fast enough. Before she could see who it was, Max dropped to the ground, bringing the second guard with her. Flipping on top of him, she hit his head against the cement floor. His skull made a slight squishing sound, but that didn't bother Max at all.  
  
With a quick scan of the room, she grabbed the second guard's gun, smashing the barrel with her foot. One more weapon that couldn't be used. As she looked for the other one, she heard a shot behind her. "Maxie!" A body slammed into her, and her head hit the wall. Then, she knew nothing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Max!" Logan shoved Jondy and Jordan out of the way as the other woman drew a gun to fire on Max. As he pushed past Jondy, he could hear her scream the same thing.  
  
"Maxie!"  
  
A shot rang out, and all Logan could see was Max, dying in his arms at Manticore. He couldn't get to her fast enough. There were people in the way, and Max was turning towards them, and the shot...  
  
"Victor!" The lab tech's body slammed into Max's, knocking her to the ground. Logan wasn't sure how Victor got through the door, but his body was lying beside Max's. A pool of blood began to well up between the two of them, but Logan couldn't tell where it was coming from. "Max?"  
  
Time seemed to stand still. Only one person could fit through the doorway at a time, but somehow, they all made it through. Jondy broke through the tangle of arms and legs and was the first in the room. The other X-5s followed at her heels, immediately tackling the two guards. Logan couldn't help grinning as Jondy dove at the dark-haired woman.  
  
The Manticore woman's arm pointed the gun at Jondy, and another shot was fired. And another. Jondy tumbled to the ground, landing at the other woman's feet. Logan felt his body hit the cement floor, but instead of stopping, he kept tumbling through the doorway as Jondy had. He crawled towards Max, knowing the others could take care of whatever guards came. Max's body lay on its side, facing away from him. Reaching out to touch her hair, Logan's hand came away sticky with blood. He picked her body up gently, cradling her close. His nightmares usually ended like this, holding Max's dying body in his arms, and then black as the X-7s took her away. But this time it wasn't just Max, it was the baby too...  
  
Shots fired, and someone screamed, but he didn't care. He rocked slowly back and forth, holding Max close. At least this time she knew he loved her. At least this time, there was nothing left unsaid.  
  
"Logan?" Arms reached out to take Max, but he wouldn't let go. He let go once, and he wasn't doing that again. "Logan, she's okay. It was Victor, not Max. She's okay." Strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, and a light, feminine voice whispered in his ear. "It's okay, big brother. Maxie's okay. We'll get out of this." Something wet fell down his cheek, but he didn't think it was blood.  
  
"Syl?" The blond X-5 knelt beside him, reaching out to touch Max's face.  
  
"It was Victor," Syl repeated, pointing to the dark red stain that was spreading across the lab tech's light green shirt. "Victor took the bullet. Maxie just hit her head." She cracked a slight smile, tears shining in her eyes. "Her head's almost as hard as Zack's. She'll be fine." Syl's arms slipped under his, lifting his weight and Max's easily. "Get up, big brother. We need to get out of here."  
  
"But Manticore..."  
  
Jondy appeared at his other elbow, stabilizing Max's slight weight in his arms. "It's going down again. We're making sure this time." Her face was grim and blood-streaked. Zane, Tawny, and Krit joined the girls, faces stained red with blood and dirt. Looking at the X-5s standing together, Logan could see for the first time what they were bred for. There was something almost feral about their beauty, dangerous as it was.  
  
"Cuz?" Jordan's hand slid under his elbow. "They're gonna blow this place. We gotta go." Logan could feel himself being propelled towards the door, the exoskeleton automatically moving his legs forward. "The guards'll be coming soon, and we need to get out."  
  
"Victor?" Looking down at Max's face, Logan noticed color returning to her pale features. Her body shuddered once, and then a second time. "Shit. Jondy, Max's seizing!"  
  
Jondy's face paled. "Get her out, now!" She grabbed Logan's other arm, steadying Max in his arms. "If we head down this corridor..." The steel-girded walls changed to concrete block. Logan had the strangest sense of deja-vu, as if he'd run down these hallways before, Max's shaking body in his arms. Jondy and the other X-5s had the same haunted look on their faces as they ran at his heels.  
  
The corridor got lighter and lighter until they came to a set of double doors. Zane and Tawny each hit one with their shoulders, bursting them open. As they ran out into the sunlight, Logan could hear the sound of explosions behind them.  
  
He was surprised to see the Aztek waiting for them about five hundred yards from the compound, a little ways off from Krit's Jeep. The back door opened, and Jace's son slid to the ground, a grim look on his small face. Logan dove into the back seat, cushioning Max as best he could as he thumped against the upholstery. Little Max crawled into the trunk portion of the Aztek and crouched down, hazel eyes peering over the seat at him. Jace was nowhere to be seen. Logan didn't say anything as Jondy and Jordan crowded into the back seat with him, Zane taking shotgun next to Lex. Looking out the window, he noticed Tawny, Syl and Krit piling into the Jeep.  
  
The compound erupted in flames as the two vehicles drove away. Logan shifted Max's body to a more comfortable position and watched as Jondy forced a handful of Tryptophan down her sister's throat. The seizure stopped, but Max's body still had that boneless, unconscious feel to it.  
  
"Papa?" His nephew's voice sounded small and alone.  
  
"Papa's with Mama now, Maxie." Jondy held her arms open to her nephew, who crawled over the back seat to sit in her lap. Jordan shifted an arm around Jondy until he cradled them both against his chest. "We'll be your family now. Aunt Maxie, Uncle Logan, Uncle Lex, Uncle Tawny, Aunt Syl, Uncle Krit, Uncle Zane..."  
"Uncle Jor," Jordan added. Logan was surprised when his cousin leaned down to kiss the top of Jondy's head. "You'll be safe now, kiddo. We promise." The youngest Cale's eyes looked older now, almost as old as Logan felt. But at least they were finally going home... He rested his hand on Max's stomach, feeling the slight bulge there. Hopefully the baby was okay. This time, they were all going home...together. 


	7. Standing Outside the Fire

Chapter 7: Standing Outside the Fire

Author's Note/Disclaimer: One more chapter, one more epilogue, and I swear this bad boy will be done. Thanks for sticking with me for the long haul. I promise several sequels. *g* As usual, these people aren't mine, but I'd like to pretend for a while. And especial thanks to Laura, who kicks ass, because I've put her through almost 80,000 words of this crappy story. You're the best beta ever.

_We call them cool   
Those hearts that have no scars to show   
The ones that never do let go   
And risk the tables being turned   
  
We call them fools   
Who have to dance within the flame   
Who chance the sorrow and the shame   
That always comes with getting burned   
  
But you've got to be tough when consumed by desire   
'Cause it's not enough just to stand outside the fire   
  
We call them strong   
Those who can face this world alone   
Who seem to get by on their own   
Those who will never take the fall   
  
We call them weak   
Who are unable to resist   
The slightest chance love might exist   
And for that forsake it all   
  
They're so hell-bent on giving, walking a wire   
Convinced it's not living if you stand outside the fire   
  
Standing outside the fire   
Standing outside the fire   
Life is not tried, it is merely survived   
If you're standing outside the fire  
  
There's this love that is burning   
Deep in my soul   
Constantly yearning to get out of control   
Wanting to fly higher and higher   
I can't abide   
Standing outside the fire   
  
Standing outside the fire   
Standing outside the fire   
Life is not tried, it is merely survived   
If you're standing outside the fire  
  
Standing outside the fire  
Standing outside the fire   
Life is not tried, it is merely survived   
If you're standing outside the fire  
--Standing Outside the Fire_, Garth Brooks

The ride back to Logan's cousin's house seemed almost as long as the midnight run Jondy'd once taken through the snow. This time, no men on snowmobiles were chasing her, but that still didn't make her feel any better. She'd seen the Manticore bitch die at her own hand, but that didn't make up for the fact that Max was still lying in Logan's arms, looking like she was out for the count.

They'd cleaned off most of the blood and rebandaged Max's injured calf. Jondy's arm throbbed, but not too badly. The wounds she and Syl had taken to the arm from those knives back at the camp had been shallow anyway. But their baby sister had taken a good bash to the head. Tawny made some stupid remark about it being good that Max had a head harder than Zack's. Logan kept stroking Maxie's hair. Max groaned a little sometimes, but her neck or spine didn't seem broken. Luckily Lex remembered the way back to Brianna's, since Logan wasn't exactly paying attention to the drive. Lex had always been good at tracking.

Jordan didn't say much as they drove down the highway. He didn't even flinch when they passed through the deserted border checkpoint that Logan's cousin Johnny had said to use. Sometimes he'd look at her with an odd expression on his face, but Jondy wasn't sure how to read it. He'd willingly taken her nephew onto his lap after her legs fell asleep, but he hadn't said anything since then. No one had said much of anything. Maybe Jordan was having second thoughts, now that he'd seen exactly what her life usually entailed--not that she was thinking of him in that way in the slightest. But being cramped between two decidedly good-looking Cale men was warping her thoughts.

"Little sister?" Lex's soft voice broke the silence. Jondy looked up, meeting his dark eyes in the rear-view mirror. "We're here."

Logan shifted next to her, accidentally digging his elbow into her ribs as he moved Max around til he could open the door. As the Aztek and the Jeep pulled up in front of the house, an endless stream of people seemed to pour out onto the front porch. Zooming in on the crowd, Jondy noticed a few familiar faces. 

"What happened? What the hell did you do to my boo? Don't make me put a smackdown on your skinny white ass." Original Cindy pushed her way forward, jumping the three steps down to the front lawn. "Is she okay?" Jondy recognized the woman at her heels as Star, and there was no mistaking Alec's smirking face.

"Shit, Logan. I didn't think anyone could take Max down." Alec actually looked worried as he took Max's limp body from Logan. Jondy stumbled out of the car after Logan, trying not to trip over him. Jordan managed to catch her before she could fall.

"The mission was a success, but we ran into some unexpected opposition. We took out the base of operations, but lost one soldier and one civilian in the process." The matter-of-fact tone of her own voice surprised Jondy. It was the same way she would've reported to Zack or the Colonel, years ago. Logan's blue eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. 

"Who were the casualties?" Alec's eyes were worried, though he wore the same carefully-blank look that Zack might've. 

"Jace," Krit answered, coming to stand beside her. He had a defiant look on his face, almost as if he dared Alec to admit that he wasn't Ben. Krit and the others knew that Alec existed, but none of them had ever had the pleasure of spending time with him. Jondy still saw Ben's face when she looked at Alec sometimes, even though she'd known him since the standoff in Terminal City nearly four years ago.

"798? I remember when she bailed about nine months before Max took down Manticore, but…" Alec nodded towards little Max, who stared at the group from the safety of Jordan's arms. "Who's the father?"

"Victor Sanchez. Lab tech. You knew him?" Jondy fell into step beside Alec as they moved towards the porch.

Alec swallowed, a look of almost regret flashing across his face. "Vic was a good guy. He still owes me 50 for some cigs."

"He's in the good place," Syl said, appearing from around Krit's other side. Jondy knew Syl meant well, saying it to comfort Alec just as she would've any of their brothers and sisters, but the other X-5 just gave her a blank look, not knowing what she meant. 

"Logan?" His cousin Brianna turned towards him as she pushed the crowd of people back into the house. "Is everything--" She trailed off as she caught sight of Max, now back in Logan's arms. "You can put her in the guestroom."

They marched through the house, up the stairs. Jondy noticed that her siblings automatically fell into step as they trooped up the front staircase. Even Alec and Star fell in. Star was pretty enough to be made in Manticore, and there were still plenty of transgenics running around Seattle. Maybe Cindy's new girl was more than meets the eye too.

"Max? Max, wake up." Logan shook her slightly as he set her on the bed. Her head lolled back against the pillow. Tawny gently pushed Logan away before examining the wound on Max's head. 

"She should wake up in a few hours. Maxie took a conk to the head like this before when Tinga pushed her out of the tree when we were training in the yard." Tawny grinned at Jondy. "Remember, little sister? Zack was so worried that he carried her back the entire way. He didn't talk to Tinga until Lights Out." He smoothed back the blood-matted hair from Max's face with a gentle hand. "She'll be fine, Logan. I promise."

"And the baby?" Logan settled on the bed, lying down beside Max. Jondy watched as his hand reached out to tentatively touch Max's stomach through the black spandex of her cat suit. "I don't know how seizures affect a fetus."

Tawny shook his head. "Field med never covered babies." His large hand reached out to touch Max's belly. "I'm sure my nephew's just fine."

"Niece," Syl corrected from where she stood, leaning against Krit. She moved towards the door, pulling Krit with her. "We should give Maxie some air."

"Maybe get her into a bath, Logan. That might wake her up. Maxie hates cold water." Tawny shot Jondy a look from the doorway. She nodded, understanding the silent command to make sure both Max and Logan were okay. "Want some grub, little sister?"

As Jondy shook her head, Tawny left, closing the door behind him. She noticed that Logan's hands shook as he began to unzip Max's black vest. He stared at the zipper for a while, as if he couldn't decide how it worked. 

"Logan?" He looked up, a startled look on his face. Jondy gently removed his hands from the zipper, pulling it down for him. "I'll run water for a bath if you want." Syl said the tub was big enough for the two of them.

For a moment, the distant look left Logan's eyes. He gave her some semblance of his usual brilliant smile before he started extracting Max from her vest. 

The bathroom was about what Jondy thought it would be. Logan's family seemed to have a fetish for large tubs. She hadn't even seen a bathtub until she was almost ten years old. She also hadn't bathed alone until about that time either. Turning the faucet on, she still couldn't help staring at the water in wonder. Her own tiny ocean, less threatening than the tank had been. Maxie and Eva always loved training sessions in the tank, daring each other to see who could stay under longest. All that practice helped, she guessed, when you had to hold your breath under the ice.

Just when the water had filled most of the tub, Logan carried Max in, wrapped in a faded bathrobe he'd found somewhere. Once her foot touched the lukewarm water, Jondy could see a shiver run up her sister's body. Logan settled her against the back of the tub, supporting Max's body with his arm. Max twitched again, this time slowly opening her eyes. She whimpered softly. "I'm gonna kill that bitch," Max muttered as she buried her face in Logan's shoulder.

"Already taken care of, baby sister." Jondy reached out, lightly touching the place where Max's head hit the wall. "Wasn't fair that you got to have all the fun taking out Manticore, so we decided to do it without you this time." 

"Did you take out the computer system?" Max winced again.

"Lex sent them a worm that ate a hole in their files. Their records of little Max may still be recoverable, but nothing was transmitted between the time the MiBs attacked and we blew the place. Whoever the buyer was shouldn't know about you or the baby." The water in the tub seemed to magnify Max's belly, enlarging the bulge. 

Max's arms wrapped protectively around her stomach as she turned to face Logan again. "I guess you figured it out, huh?"

Logan nodded slowly, his eyes dropping to Max's stomach. Jondy couldn't read the expression on his face. He hadn't said anything about the baby on the ride home. She wondered if the reality of the situation had even sunk in yet. "The Manticore bitch told me." His voice was quiet and calm--too calm. And that was a sign for Jondy to head downstairs to face the rest of her family.

"I'll see what grub I can scrounge," she said hastily as she stood up. She leaned in, kissing the top of Max's head. "Don't kill each other. We went through all that effort to get you both out alive." Logan and Max both gave her a startled look as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

The house was quiet as Jondy moved down the back stairs to the kitchen. She was surprised to find only her own siblings crowded around the table.

"Brianna and Johnny took the kids over to her sister's place," Zane said, handing her a sandwich and a glass of milk. "Maxie awake?" Taking the plate from her brother, Jondy noticed that her siblings had carefully crowded themselves around one side of the table and the kitchen counter behind, leaving Alec, Jordan, Star, and Original Cindy with an entire side to themselves. After what they'd just been through, Jondy almost couldn't blame her siblings for keeping themselves separate from Alec. She still wasn't exactly sure how to treat him. But this was ridiculous.

Taking an empty seat between Alec and Jordan, she took a big bite of sandwich before answering. "Cold bath'll do the trick every time. Just like with--" Her nephew sat in Jordan's lap, attention completely focused on his sandwich. Somewhere between the car and the kitchen, he'd found a stuffed bear to cling to. 

"So what happened? One of Asha's boys left five messages that the black helicopter boys were after Max on my cell, and by the time I bust my ass down here, you've cleaned everything up." Alec fidgeted with his sandwich, carefully tearing it into neat sections. "And your family isn't exactly spilling on details. I'm not 493. Psy-Ops spent six months figuring out why I didn't go fucking insane like your brother. Max's dragged me into this family shit. I deserve to know what's going on."

Alec's blue eyes met hers defiantly. "Max's pregnant," Jondy answered simply. "And because she has that special DNA shit or whatever, Manticore wants her and the baby."

"Baby?" Alec choked. "Max's pregnant and she orchestrated a rescue operation to break into a government facility that would give anything to get its hands on her again. She been smoking crack with Sketch or something?" He shook his head. "Must've fallen on her head one two many times or something."

"Naw, they just put a little too much mule DNA in Maxie. When she and Jondy were paired up, all they did was get into trouble back at Manticore. Maxie's too used to getting her own way, cuz she just had the Colonel and Zack wrapped around her little finger." Krit actually gave Alec a semi-friendly smile. "If it was me or Tawn or Eri or something, Zack would've smacked us and told us to move on, soldier. Focus on the mission." Jondy was surprised by the trace of old bitterness in her little brother's voice. 

"But that's what saved us, Krit. If they hadn't taken Jack…" Tawny's face tightened. "Zack wouldn't let anything happen to us after that, especially not Maxie. So we bailed, and he saved all our asses."

"But how many times did you ever wish you were back?" Alec countered softly. "I still hate her sometimes for messing my world up. It was hell, but I knew it. And it was safe."

The room became quiet again. Jondy saw Syl's hand slip into Krit's, and even Tawny's hands seemed to shake slightly. Jordan's hand found hers under the table. "We're out now." Jondy shrugged at Alec. It wasn't like they could go back, even if they wanted to. "And this is the third time Manticore's gone down. Maybe it's for good."

"You never know if you've defeated an enemy until you count the bodies," Star countered in her soft voice. Jondy noticed her brothers and sisters look up in surprise at the girl, but Alec didn't seem too perplexed. 

"You weren't the only ones who escaped," Star continued in her soft voice. "Some of us just waited a decade before we followed you out." The girl gave a crisp salute when every head turned towards her. "X-6381, reporting for debrief. Director Renfro sent me on my first solo two weeks before the base was compromised. I went to ground like the signal said. Met up with some of my squadron in Vancouver, and they said that half of us died in the fire. And I saw how many the witch trials took out two years ago." Jondy could still see the shadows of all that in Star's green eyes--eyes just like Jen's had been. "Manticore's still counting our bodies. So's the NSA or whatever agency they hired to take us out." 

"Do you still wish you were back?" Alec repeated. Star actually seemed to flinch at the fierceness of his stare. Jondy had never seen Alec look so much like Ben as he did now. Star didn't answer for a while, even after Cindy put her arm around the younger girl. Jondy wanted to protect her from Alec's questions, not just because Star was what Jen could've been, if Jen had lived this long. But Jen had been the first victim of the seizures that took Jack, and might've taken Max. At least Manticore did something right and corrected the faulty gene eventually.

"I don't think any of us need to answer that, Alec." Star wore that daring look that Jondy knew too well--something you shot to a CO when you didn't agree with his order, but weren't quite sure how to say it. "But you can't go home again."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You mad?" Even those two words made the pounding in her head increase. Max winced as Logan's gentle fingers massaged the shampoo around the sore spot on her head.

Logan tipped her head back, pouring a bowl full of water over her hair before answering. "I'm not mad. Your brothers said you just found out, and we haven't exactly had time to talk." He set the bowl down, giving her a serious look. "What are we going to do about it?" He wore his Eyes Only face, his blue eyes unreadable behind his glasses. Max hated when he gave her that look.

"It's not like we can sell it like it's a litter of puppies or something. Though knowing the cocktail mess Manticore made of my genes, the baby could pop out with long ears and a tail." Max wrapped her arms around her stomach. All that was protecting the baby from the world was a uterine membrane and a thin layer of skin, anyway. "Jondy was pregnant. Said the baby looked kinda like a fish when she miscarried."

There was another silence. She could see the thoughts working through Logan's mind. "Zack's baby. She doesn't know about Adam. And she won't know about Adam, because if she did…" No one knew what would trigger that suggestion that Manticore planted in Zack's brain. And if it came down to her brother's life, or the father of her child--she didn't need to face that choice again. "Well, we were going to get married anyway…" Logan's fingers reached out, intertwining with hers. His free hand pushed back her wet hair as he leaned in to kiss her. "Dammit, Max. I'm not losing you again. And if you ever pull shit like that again, I'll--"

"You'll what? Get Alec to kick my ass?" At least he was smiling again. His eyes looked a little watery behind his glasses, but he was smiling. Maybe their baby would have her daddy's smile and his beautiful blue eyes. She pulled him down for another kiss. "I love you."

Logan's arms tightened around her as he pulled her closer. "I know, Max. I know. I'm still dragging you to see Sam as soon as we get back to Seattle." His hand reached under the water, touching her belly. "So we'll have someone else we have to look after in a few months?" He grinned. "Someone besides Alec, that is."

"About six and a half months." Six and a half months, and she'd have a real family of her own. A little piece of her and Logan to terrorize the world. "Shit, we're having a baby." Something that would depend on them for the next eighteen years.

"Congratulations, Mama," Logan said, kissing her ear. "But if it's a boy, I hope he doesn't take after the Cales."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max and Logan still hadn't come downstairs by the time they finished cleaning up the kitchen. Alec and Tawny made comment after comment about Max and Logan's sex life, once her big brother realized that Ben's twin wasn't a bad guy after all. The thought of Tawny and Jordan was frightening enough. She didn't need to imagine what three of them could get into, or if Seattle was even big enough.

"Logan's cousin said they were gonna crash at her sister's for the night, so we've got the whole house. The little girl's room's too fem for my taste, but I can sleep anywhere." Alec flopped back in an armchair in the large room off the kitchen. Brianna had called it a great room--the floor space alone would be enough to accommodate all of them.

"We'll take Sam's room. Original Cindy likes the girly-girly sometimes. Butch ain't all bad, but sometimes you just want all woman." Jondy noticed some of her brothers' eyes fixating on Star and Cindy as Star leaned in to whisper something in the other woman's ear. "And no, Alec, you cain't watch."

Alec shot Original Cindy his easy grin. "I had to ask. A good businessman knows that you never turn up the offer of an opportunity." Before Jondy could launch something at him, Alec tumbled out of the chair and behind the couch for cover.

"The rest of us can crash here. The couch looks like it folds out, and it's not too cold out." Tawny stood, measuring the floor space with his eyes. "Bigger than the barracks."

"Maxie and Logan need to buy a home or something. We need a base of operations." Krit stood, removing cushions from the couch. "Even though I don't know if I could stay in one place, if we didn't have to run."

"Been in Seattle for three years. It's not a bad city." Alec pulled the mattress out of the couch before flopping down on it. "Asha talks about wanting to move back to San Fran, but her boys are based out of Seattle, and I don't think they'd move the whole operation."

Jondy settled herself on the far side of the mattress from Alec, little Max automatically snuggling up against her. "I miss the city. I miss my bridge. I haven't been back since Zack made us all move."

"Maybe they mixed gypsy blood in our DNA, Jon. Tinga's the only one who settled--and Maxie now." Zane was quiet for a moment as he laid back on the floor. "Zack's not around to tell us to leave, but I still do it. Can't stay put."

"Hook up with a member of a rebel cell. That'll keep your ass in enough danger to make you feel like it's old times again." There was a soft smile on Alec's face. Maybe Alec and Asha were on the track to being more than fucking buddies. The X-5 yawned and rubbed at his eyes. "Guess we're obliged to finish off the job, huh?"

"That's been our mission for the past thirteen years." Syl dragged the couch cushions into a pile, curling up on them next to Krit. "The objective has always been to finish the mission."

"Dunno about you boos, but Original Cindy's heading off to bed. If you see my girl before I wake up tomorrow, tell her I'm gonna put a smackdown on her ass." With an arm around Star, Original Cindy headed towards the hallway. "But I'm glad that y'all came back. Been enough strife and shit with this family."

Tawny rummaged through a duffle on the floor, grabbing some clothes and heading after the two women. "I'm up for a shower. Someone save me a patch of floor."

Jondy looked down at her nephew, already asleep. His face was probably the only part on his body that was clean, but a bath could still wait until tomorrow. She was tired for once. Usually after a mission, her adrenaline went so far into overdrive that she didn't sleep for two days. But this time…

Jordan stood in the middle of the room, looking lost. Jondy hoped he didn't notice the glare Zane was shooting him from the floor. She scooted closer to Alec, making room between little Max's sleeping body and the edge of the mattress. "There's still room, Jor." The nickname sounded natural to her ear. He was almost family anyway.

He hesitated for a moment. He had that lost look on his face again. "I think I'll just take the boys' room. You guys probably wanna review the mission or whatever." Jordan made his way to the door, looking less and less the confident jackass that Tawny had hauled with him two days ago.

"Cale," Zane barked. Her brother still lounged back on the floor, but Jondy recognized the look on his face as one that Zack had learned from the Colonel. Jordan looked over his shoulder, startled. "Get your ass back here, soldier. A troop always bunks together the night after a mission." 

Pausing in the doorway, Jordan stood with one foot in the hallway and one foot in the room. Jondy thought that would've been symbolic somehow in one of those pre-Pulse movies, someone hovering on the verge of a decision. But like most of her brothers and sisters, she had an obsession with anything that would explain the world before it went to shit. 

"We're not gonna put the moves on you or anything," Alec spoke up. His mouth curved into a suggestive grin. "Unless you want us to. I got Logan in a closet one time--"

"Tawny's already proved what an X-5 can do. I've already got the 411," Jordan drawled back, almost an identical grin on his face. He took up the empty space on the mattress, snagging a pillow from the floor. Jondy groaned as the two men started exchanging stories over her head. There were places she didn't need to go when it came to her siblings' sex lives.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Without opening his eyes, Logan knew Max was awake. Her warm body tensed in his arms briefly before relaxing against him. Moving his head forward, he kissed her bare shoulder. "You're safe now, Max. You're both safe now." Her hand came up to cover his on her stomach. There was a time only three years before when Logan thought moments like this could only be a dream. They'd been living on borrowed time since he first got shot in the back. But it was all worth it to have Max in his arms, and to be able to feel the warmth of her skin against his. They had six and a half months before they'd become a threesome. He didn't know how that would change their lives, but from where he stood now, the future actually looked like it wouldn't try to screw them over.

But the moment was broken when Max's stomach rumbled. He opened his eyes to find her brown ones laughing at him. "Junior's hungry," she said, rolling over and stretching. She pushed back the comforter, contemplating the shape of her stomach. She still seemed too thin for Logan's taste. Women were supposed to gain weight in pregnancy, not lose it. But the past few weeks had been rough, and peace wasn't exactly something X-5s were guaranteed for any period of time. 

"Think he wants eggs?" Logan grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and maneuvered his body towards the wheelchair that sat next to the bed. Max slipped out from under the covers and tossed him a pair of boxers and a shirt.

"Pancakes?" She turned a plaintive look towards him as she pulled another shirt over her head, and the pair of sweats that Jondy had dug out of a duffle bag. "With that boysenberry syrup drizzled all over them…" Her stomach rumbled again.

"And a bowl of cream for the kitten?" Snagging her by the back of her shirt, Logan dragged Max into his lap for a kiss. He wheeled them both towards where the exoskeleton sat by the door, his own stomach growling. "Did we even eat yesterday?"

After Logan slipped into the exoskeleton and a pair of track pants, they moved down the stairs towards the kitchen. Peering into the great room, it didn't surprise Logan too much to find the X-5s still sprawled out asleep. It surprised him a little to find Alec, Jondy, and his cousin curled up on the hide-a-bed, but he was past the point where X-5 sleeping arrangements bothered him. He knew that he'd never understand Max's brothers and sisters and their attitude towards sex. It was just safer not to dwell on it too much.

The only two who seemed to be missing were Zane and little Max, but the question of their location was answered when Zane walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe that was way too small for him, with a towel-encased little boy in his arms.

"Maxie?" Zane's voice was soft as he peered over Logan's shoulder.

"Here, big brother." Max moved around Logan and into her brother's free arm. Even her nephew wrapped his arms around her neck. Max automatically shifted the boy to her hip, a gesture that Logan knew would come in handy. 

"How's your head?" Zane reached out one of his large hands and felt Max's head with the same gentle touch that Tawny had used.

"Feels like the day Tinga knocked me out of the tree." Logan saw Max wince as Zane touched a particularly sensitive spot. Her free hand found his and she squeezed it reassuringly. "The others still crashed?"

"Even Jon's still asleep. The last time she slept this much was when she was…" Zane trailed off, his gray eyes distant. "I don't care what that little brother of ours says, he still snores worse than I do."

"Do not. That was Syl." Krit yawned as he made his way past them to the bathroom. Syl trailed at his heels, barely awake. "Glad you're back with us, Maxie." Both leaned in to kiss Max as they passed by. "If you're taking orders for pancakes, Logan, we'll take two more."

"Pancake?" Little Max echoed. "Whatsa pancake? Mama makes oatmeal for breakfast." The little boy made a face.

Max set the little boy down, giving him a light shove towards the bag Jace had packed of his clothes. "Uncle Logan'll start making breakfast while you get dressed, okay?" The little boy hurried off into the great room, the towel trailing behind him.

"So this means I'm cooking breakfast for--" Logan tried to mentally take a count, but fell short. Barcode numbers swam before his eyes. "Twelve?" And nine of those twelve didn't exactly eat like normal people.

"Alec and the girls brought provisions with them, if that helps. And I can help fry up some bacon," Zane offered, adjusting the pink bathrobe he wore. Logan averted his eyes as the X-5 casually retied the bathrobe around his waist. 

"Just put some pants on, big brother. Pink isn't your color," Max called as she dragged Logan off towards the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Before she even bothered opening her eyes, Jondy elbowed the bodies on each side of her so that she could roll over onto her back. Her muscles screamed the same way they had back at Manticore, after a long training mission. At least the slash on her arm didn't ache as much. If it wasn't for the comfortable mattress and the smell of bacon frying, she could almost be back at Manticore, crammed into a cot with one of her brothers and sisters the way they did sometimes at night. But neither the brown head on the left or the blond on the right could exactly be called brothers. One looked exactly like her brother, but that didn't do anything to help the illusion.

"Breakfast, Jon." She opened her eyes to find Tawny's face peering at her over the back of the couch. "Logan made pancakes." Her brother waved a pancake under her nose before eating it. "Maxie's up too."

That was enough reason to get up. She thrashed with the blankets for a moment. Sometime in the night, the guys had decided to each curl up with one end of the covers, pinning her to the mattress with the blankets. It wasn't until she kicked Jordan that she was finally able to move. Alec just muttered something about Asha and rolled back over. Tawny only watched her with that smirk on his face. "Food's not going anywhere, little sister. Zane's already nuking more bacon." But when you set any amount of food out for her siblings, it automatically became a contest to see who could get to it first. And the others already had a head start.

"Someone say breakfast?" Original Cindy waved as she moved towards the kitchen. "If somebody ate all the eggs, Original Cindy's gonna put a smackdown on their transgenic ass."

Perched on the back of the sofa, Jondy could hear the sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen. Peering around the great room, she saw that only Alec was still asleep. Jordan blinked up at her, looking like he wasn't quite sure where they were. "Aunt Sara?" The younger Cale yawned and rubbed his eyes again. "Aunt Sara, when--" He blinked and sat up, his cheeks flushing. "Jondy."

"Second though, little sister, hit the shower first. Everyone else's done their duty, and that way, Zane'n Logan'll be done with the third round of food by the time you're done." There was a wicked look on Tawny's face. "There might be enough hot water left for one shower…"

Out of habit, Jondy slugged her brother, knocking him to the floor. He landed on his feet easily, tumbling out of range of any other blows. He ended up at Original Cindy and Star's feet, Star giving him a shy half-smile. Maybe the X-6s didn't pull off the same antics that they had in the barracks at night. Or maybe Jondy's siblings deviated from the standard Manticore X-class norm.

"Better hurry up, boo. I think Golden Boy just headed off towards the bathroom." Cindy pointed out in the hallway towards Jordan's retreating figure, disappearing behind the bathroom door. But two could play at that game, and Jordan Cale didn't know who he was up against.

The door was shut and locked, but that didn't mean anything. Jondy could hear the sound of water running, which would cover the noise of whatever she decided to do. Kicking the door open was overkill, but since the lock was one of the simple push-button variety, it was something even her three year old nephew could pick. 

She scanned the floor for any bobby pins or small metal objects that she might need. Looking in the open door of the boys' bedroom, Jondy found a pushpin stuck into the wall. That would work. It only took a quick jab and flick of her wrist to pop the lock on the door. And because the water was still running, she doubted Jordan heard her.

The door swung open slowly, revealing a bright blue and yellow fish carpet on the tile floor, and a tropical patterned shower curtain. She could see the top of Jordan's soapy head over the top of the shower curtain rod. Debating between casually slipping into the shower next to him or assaulting him as he got out, Jondy perched on top of the sink to wait. If it had been any of her brothers, she would've found her way to the water heater and turned the hot water off. Or she would've just beat them senseless before they got to the shower. But Jordan Cale was an unknown factor, and she still wasn't sure how to handle him exactly.

Jordan seemed to be in a courteous mood. The water turned off seconds later. But before Jondy could dart out the door, the shower curtain opened, revealing Logan's youngest cousin in all his glory. He didn't have the washboard stomach of an X-5, but he was still a fine specimen of the male species. And doubtlessly, being 'hung' ran in the Cale genes.

His blue eyes widened as he stood there, dripping wet and paralyzed. Jondy just stared at him, taking in every inch of his body. Not bad at all, for a norm…

And with the speed of panic, or maybe a transgenic, Jordan grabbed his robe and fled down the hall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"And then she was staring at me like she wanted to devour me. Logan, stop laughing! She just looked…hungry…"

Max laughed softly, trying not to look over at where the two Cales stood, fixing pancakes. 

"10 to 1 Jondy'll have him for her next heat," Krit said around a mouthful of bacon. One by one, her brothers set dollar bills on the table.

Alec shook his head. "She'll wait, I think. I give her three months."

"It's not gonna happen, boys." Jondy picked little Max up out of the chair next to Max and sat down in it. "Pass the grub, baby sister. If there's any left."

"Fresh pancakes, as requested, MacDuff." Logan set a plate in front of Jondy with flourish. Max couldn't help snickering, noticing that Jordan still stayed on the other side of the kitchen. Before Logan could head back to his cousin, though, Max tugged his face close for a kiss. 

"So he forgave you?" Jondy asked as she poked their nephew as he tried to pull a pancake off her plate. "Too much time's wasted on shit like that. Just apologize, do it like bunnies, and move on." 

"It's all about the borrowed time, baby," Alec drawled. His blue eyes didn't smirk as much as they usually did. "Too much time's been lent out in the first place."

"This coming from the guy who said he'd never get seriously involved with a norm," Max countered with a grin.

"We're not like that, to quote two of the coolest yet lamest people on the face of the earth," he snapped back with a matching grin. "You know I love you guys--not that way though--but damn, it took you long enough." He nodded towards her left hand, where her ring still sparkled. "You didn't ask for my approval, but you know I'm gonna give it anyway."

It surprised her, sometimes, how much Alec had grown up in the past three years. Or maybe it was that she was grown-up enough to admit that he didn't annoy her with his very breath anymore. Ever since that night he held her, after she told him about Ben…something changed then. He wasn't the brother she'd known at Manticore. He was as far from Ben as an X-5 or human being could be. He was a smart-ass and snarky and a downright pissy little bitch sometimes, but Alec was growing into a good man, and there were times when she was proud to call him family.

"I do have a question for you, Maxie," Lex spoke up. He'd put on his priest's collar again. She still couldn't reconcile big brother Lex and Father Alexander. "God's been willing to overlook a certain matter that you took into your own hands, but I'd like to see you follow through on it, here or back in Seattle."

Max swallowed. She twisted the ring around her finger again and looked up at Logan, who had taken the only free seat across from her. She owed it to him, to at least go through the ceremony. She owed it to both of them, and their child. And it wasn't like her siblings would hold it against her if it fell through. The world didn't really care about the reputation of one Max Guevara…

"My family's here, but my family's there too, Max. I don't want the circus that Aunt Margot cooked up for Bennett. I just want you." Logan took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. "The members of my family that matter are here with me now, in this room, and I'd be honored to marry you wherever you wanted." He smiled slightly. "It doesn't even have to be in public."

She could feel her family's eyes on her until even her nephew was giving her an expectant look. Max resisted the old urge to flee. It was never good when the Enemy turned this much attention to you. But this wasn't the Enemy. These were the people she loved, and loved her.

"I want Joshua to be there. He gets shafted out of enough as is, but he's family, and…" Max gave Logan a crooked grin. "I even know this church that we could probably use, and if we do it on a weeknight, Father Destry could probably throw the congregation out…"

"In the closet in the guest room, I have my mom's wedding dress. It might need a dry-cleaning and some altering, but…" His smile quivered slightly. "And it's not like you have to pick bridesmaids. I think I've already got my best men." Logan pushed back his chair and looked back towards his cousin. "What do you think, Jor? Be my best man? I think you've redeemed yourself in the eyes of the human race now."

Jordan stuck his tongue out at Logan. "Very funny, Itsy." He ducked as Logan lobbed a pancake at him. "Bree'll have your ass on a plate if you mess up her kitchen. But if you really want me…" The look on his face was serious for once.

"I do, Jor. You might be the only Cale I actually consider worthy of calling a relative. You almost got your ass shot off saving my life. I don't think Bennett or Robert would do that."

"Bennett might try to argue for your release. Robert would just give the guards his puppy dog look and try to convince them that way." Jordan's mouth twitched. "If you can't find anyone better, I guess I'll have to take the job."

"So we're heading home, Maxie?" There was almost an anxious note in Alec's voice, like he had some apologizing to do to someone. 

"Yeah, guess we might as well head home." It was time to move forward with all this shit, since they were never exactly sure how much time they'd have.


	8. Miracle

Chapter 8: Miracle

A/N/Disclaimer/Summary: We're almost done here...a little bitty epilogue, and then it's on to the world of sequels. I hope you guys are still enjoying this. I'm sure it'll still be a work in progress after I get this bad boy done. Parts of season two still don't jive with this, but anyway...

This is still not mine, and I'm still just playing with the characters for the afternoon. Thanks to James Cameron and the rest for letting me borrow Max, Logan, and the others.

Summary: Much chaos ensued, a rescue was accomplished, two people died, and now Max and Logan are getting married, dammit.

See ya in the epilogue!

~*~*~*~*~*~

_A penny for your thoughts now baby  
Looks like the weight of the world's on your shoulders now  
I know you think you're going crazy  
Just when it seems everything's gonna work itself out  
They drive you right back down  
  
And you said it ain't fair  
That a man walks  
When a bird can fly  
We have to kick the ground  
The stars kiss the sky  
They say that spirits live  
A man has to die  
They promised us truth  
Now they're giving us lies  
  
Gonna take a miracle top save us this time  
And your savior has just left town  
Gonna need a miracle 'cause it's all on the line  
And I won't let you down  
The river of your hope is flooding  
And I know the dam is busted  
If you need me I'll come running  
I won't let you down... no, no  
  
You're looking for salvation  
You thought that it'd be shining like an angel's light, yeah  
Well, the angels left this nation  
And salvation caught the last train out tonight  
He lost a hell of a fight  
  
He said: "I'm just one man, that's all I'll ever be  
I never can be everything you wanted from me  
I've got big plans so big that any blind man could see  
I'm standing in the river  
Now I'm drowning in the sea  
  
Gonna take a miracle top save us this time   
And your savior has just left town  
Gonna need a miracle 'cause your heart's on the line  
And your heartbeat is slowing down   
Your feet are grounded still you're reaching for the sky  
You can let 'em clip your wings 'cause I believe that you can fly  
  
Well my eyes have seen the horror of the coming of the flood  
I've driven deep the thorny crown into the soul of someone's son  
Still I'll look you in the eye 'cause I've believed in things I've thought  
And I'll die without regret for the wars I have fought  
  
Gonna take a miracle to save you this time   
And your savior has just left town  
Gonna need a miracle 'cause your heart's doing time  
And your conscience is calling you out   
It ain't all for nothing  
Life ain't written in the sand  
I know the tide is coming  
But it's time we made a stand with a miracle  
_ --"Miracle" Jon Bon Jovi

The ride up was a lot easier than the ride down. This time, it was Alec and a little boy crashed out in the back seat, while Jordan took shotgun. The girls had commandeered Alec's rattling old Cadillac convertible. Logan noticed his cousin using the rear-view mirror to check out the red car that drove behind them. Whatever Jordan had going on with Jondy, he had no doubt that it would straighten itself out in time.

He felt bad about leaving Bree so abruptly, but there wasn't exactly a transgenic doctor he could take Max to in San Diego. First thing on his list was getting Max in to see Sam Carr. The second was planning a wedding. Max's brothers and sisters seemed to have already taken care of that. The girls were going shopping for dresses while Max was at the doctor, and it shouldn't take much to alter his mother's wedding dress to fit the newest Cale bride.

"Hey, Logan?"

Logan waited in silence for Jordan to continue. With a sigh, he finally responded. "Yes, Jordan?" Again, the silence. "Jor, if you want to ask me something, you have to actually say it. I can't read your mind. I know someone who could, but she's in Hawaii right now." He couldn't help chuckle at the horrified look on his cousin's face. Maybe now wasn't the best time to mention Manticore's little foray into Psy-Ops.

"They're different, aren't they? With this whole family thing and shit. Because Zane's been plotting my murder every time he sees me, and I don't know any brothers that look at their sisters the way he looks at Jondy."

And Jordan had never met Zack. Logan could hear what sounded like a snort coming from the back seat. "Remember what it was like before my dad died?" Jordan had been young then, not even five. 

"After Aunt Sara died?" Jordan was quiet. "A little. I remember when Uncle Logan..." Logan's dad hadn't gotten drunk often. He wasn't constantly in a state of alcoholic stupor like Uncle Jonas, but that one time a month was bad enough.

"Yeah. Imagine that every day of your life, when you don't have parents who love you and a school to escape to. Imagine that Bennett and Robert and me we're all you had, and that was drilled in your brain from the time you were three years old." Everyone had demons, and Logan knew that nothing he'd ever experienced could match a day of what Max and the others had seen at Manticore. Alec had only had it worse, after the others escaped. None of them talked about it--not in his presence anyway, but Asha said once that sometimes Alec woke up at night, crying.

"Shit" was Jordan could say.

"Colonel Lydecker taught Max's squadron that they had to depend on each other for survival. She said that brother was one of the first words she learned. Her family..." Logan shook his head, not knowing what to say. He'd spent so many years trying to distance himself from the Cales that Max's obsession with her family still baffled him.

"They felt loved," Alec's voice spoke up from the back seat. "Lydecker made them into his own worst weapon because they depended on each other for everything. Transgenics aren't supposed to love, but they taught each other. And all it did was screw them up to deal with the rest of the world."

Or saved them.

"And of course Max had to drag me into all this shit and warp my world view, but hey, it's all good." Alec opened his eyes, meeting Logan's in the rear view mirror. "I'll forgive her for it eventually."

"Survival, Jor. That's all it was. They aren't exactly your conventional family." Logan looked over at his cousin, taking his hand off the hand-brake long enough to pat Jordan's leg. "And it looks like they might've adopted you."

~*~*~*~*~*~

As they drove through Sector Nine, Max couldn't help feeling like she was coming home. It wasn't something she thought she'd ever feel. Seattle wasn't a bad place to raise a kid. She'd raised herself here, and her family seemed to like passing through.

But before she stopped back at Logan's, there was someone she had to see, someone she owed a visit to. 

Jondy leaned forward, poking Max in the shoulder. "Maxie, we just passed the turn-off to Logan's." 

"Just taking a little side-trip." Her eyes strayed towards Syl and Star, crammed into the back with Jondy. "I can drop you guys back off at the crib if you want."

"Joshua, huh, boo? Your boy's been missin' his little fella all week. It's gettin' close to that time of year when he starts missing his Annie again. I think Dawgie Dawg's startin' early this year." Cindy shifted in the passenger seat, stretching her legs. "And Original Cindy will be damn glad to get out of this pimpin' mobile. I don't even wanna think about what Alec had in the back seat."

Max laughed as her sisters both made faces and shifted closer to the doors.

Jondy leaned forward again, resting her arms on the back of Max's seat. "Joshua was that one from Terminal City, wasn't he, Maxie? The one who kept talking about Father?" 

"Joshua's my man. He's all about the 411. Brother-man got mad skills with his paints too," Cindy said. "You gonna invite him to the wedding, boo?"

"Gonna see if Big Fella'll walk me down the aisle." Max shrugged with a grin. "He busted my ass out of Manticore after all."

Joshua's neighborhood was quiet as they pulled up in front of Sandeman's old house. Max turned the car off and turned to her sisters in the back seat. She wondered if Syl still had nightmares about the nomalies. 

"What's wrong, Max?" Syl pointed to Max's hands, clenching the faded vinyl fabric so hard that she'd ripped the seat cover. "Who's Joshua?"

"He's a transgenic. He's the first one Manticore ever made, and he's not...he doesn't look like everyone else."

Syl actually shrank back. In her blue eyes, Max could see the little girl her sister had been back at Manticore, too scared to sleep at night because of the nomalies in the basement. 

"He's not a nomaly, Syl. He just looks different." Max reached out, stroking her sister's long blond hair. "They put a little too much canine DNA in his cocktail." She gave her sister a grin.

Syl's grip on Jondy relaxed slightly. "He doesn't bite?"

Jondy snorted. "Zane probably bites worse than this guy does. He might hurt a flea, but nothing bigger, Syl. He's an artist. Besides, it's not his fault that Manticore fucked with his DNA." She hopped out of the convertible, holding out her hand to Syl. "Ready, little sister?"

Syl nodded, taking Jondy's hand. "Ready."

Star hung back as the four moved towards the porch. "Where you goin', girl?" Cindy held out her hand to the X-6, the same as Jondy had to Syl. "You're part of this family now. Joshua gonna love you just as much as Original Cindy does."

Max turned back to her roommate. Star looked just as startled. She still looked at the X-6 and saw Jen sometimes. Manticore seemed to have liked recycling DNA more than anyone thought. "You mean it?" Star's green eyes were serious as she stepped towards Original Cindy.

Original Cindy took Star's hand, kissing it gently. "Every day, boo. Every day."

"Little fella?" The door opened, and Max could see Joshua peering out from the shadow of the doorway. "You're back." Even in the gloom of the house, Max could see Joshua's smile.

She ran up the steps and into Joshua's waiting arms. "I'm back, big fella. Medium fella didn't even have to bail me out this time."

"Alec was worried. I was worried too." She could feel Joshua kiss the top of her head. He pushed back from her suddenly, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed. "Something different about little fella, something changed..." He looked over her shoulder. She could hear the sounds of footsteps on the stairs as her sisters entered the house behind her. "X-5. Two X-5s. Cat in cocktail." His nostrils flared again as Joshua's face broke into a big smile. "And horse. X-6."

"These are my sisters, Joshua. You remember Jondy, and the other one's Syl." Max backed away, dragging them further inside. "And Star."

Joshua held out his hand, shaking each of her sisters' hands gently. "Max's sisters, welcome to my house. Do you want macaroni and cheese?"

Jondy's stomach rumbled in response as she smiled. "I'm always down with the mac and cheese."

As Max settled in her chair with a plate of macaroni and cheese, Joshua moved past her again, nose twitching. "Max. Max and Logan been getting busy?" She heard her sisters laugh. "Max is...Max is..." He knelt in front of her for a long time, nostrils flaring. Finally, a wide smile lit up his face. "Little fella's two."

"If you needed more proof, boo, I think you got it now." Original Cindy came to lean on the back of the arm chair. "Brother-man's all about the down low."

"Damn straight, my sister," Joshua said with a huge grin. "Logan's happy about having another little fella?"

Logan seemed happy enough. Half the time, he wandered around with a dopey look on his face, looking even more dazed than he had after she accepted his marriage proposal. The other half of the time... Max was surprised he actually let her out of his sight long enough to drive back from San Diego with her sisters. But she needed that time, since she never saw them all in one place--all three of them.

"Logan got a smile so big it's blinding, boo," Cindy said with a matching grin. "That baby boo gonna have Daddy wrapped around his little finger."

"Her," Joshua corrected. "Little girl fella." His eyes dropped to Max's stomach. "Max and Logan get busy and make a girl."

From across the room, Max heard Jondy cough. She shot Jondy a dirty look, but her sister only shrugged and smiled innocently. Jondy didn't need to know about all the times Joshua asked her if she and Logan had gotten busy lately. At least Alec had the tact only to crack smarmy remarks for the first five minutes and then let it go. As if he and Asha were any better...

"But that's not why we came, big fella." Max reached out, turning Joshua's face towards hers again. "I wanted to ask you a question."

Joshua nodded, his eyes fixating on her face again.

"Logan and I are gonna get hitched, and I wanted to know if you wanted to give me away." She held up her hand, letting the ring catch the light and cast a sparkling shadow on the wall. Lex had taken both the wedding bands for safe keeping.

Big fella was quiet for a while as he looked at her, and then at the ring. His voice was soft when he finally spoke. "But all the out-there people, little fella. The screaming, and the beatings..." One large hand came up to protect his face, as if he still felt the blows. Max was still surprised they'd both made it out of 2021 alive, after Ames' witch hunts and everything that happened. It had taken enough convincing to drag Joshua out of Terminal City.

"Our brother Lex is a priest, Joshua." Jondy shoved Max over, sitting in the arm chair beside her. "And Maxie knows this priest guy who'd let us use the church. If we did it after midnight mass, and had it over in the side chapel, no one would see you."

Syl moved to stand beside Original Cindy. She studied Joshua for a moment. "It shouldn't be too hard to bust him out of here. Pull his hair back, maybe put a hat on him..."

"Hat?" Joshua jumped up and ran into the other room. Max could hear him rummaging through boxes and tossing things around. He came back into the front room, cradling a bike helmet in his arms. "Alec gave me bike helmet when I delivered his packages." Joshua put on the helmet to demonstrate. "See? Out-there people can't see my face. Ride the bike to church, no out-there people screaming."

Max was surprised to hear Syl laugh. "That works. Then we don't need any pyrotechnics for a distraction." Her sister actually looked disappointed.

Before Joshua could answer, Max felt her pager vibrate. The number was Logan's. "Someone's wondering where we are."

Joshua picked her up out of the chair and hugged her again. "Congratulations to you and Logan. Joshua will give you away, since Father isn't here. Father supposed to, like at Meg's wedding in Little Women."

But that was kinda hard, when you had no father, and the closest thing was either the Colonel who tortured you as a child, or a fucked-up breeding-cult reject who wanted to make his own master-race.

"C'mon, boo. Don't wanna keep your boy waiting." Cindy grabbed Max's hand, tugging it gently. 

As they drove back to the penthouse, Max couldn't forget the smile on Joshua's face. Letting everyone out of Manticore, freaks and nomalies included and all the trouble they'd caused, was almost worth that smile. And the fact that her family was there, and her baby would have aunts and uncles that already loved her...it wasn't quite the happily ever after she'd always wanted, but it was close enough.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ready, Max?" Max stood in front of the mirror in the vestibule of the church, shaking. "Maxie?" Jondy fumbled in her purse for the Tryptophan. Her baby sister would choose now to have a seizure...

"No, big sister. It's not _those _kinda shakes." Max's hand caught hers, the palm cold and clammy. "Fuck. I'm not supposed to be nervous. It's not like I have to walk a wire or anything."

"Maybe it's the white dress," Syl suggested from where she sat, arranging flowers in Star's long hair. "It does kinda scream 'here I am, shoot me.'"

"Somehow I doubt Logan would go for a camouflage wedding," Asha said with a slight smile. She sat backwards in one of Father Destry's desk chairs, resting her chin on the chair back. Her dark blue skirts belled out around her feet. The blonde actually had a wistful look on her face. Jondy was just glad that she wasn't the only one who felt out of place in a fancy dress.

"I'm just glad that his mom's dress fit." Max scratched at her collar-bone. "The beads itch."

"My mom always said that Mrs. Cale wanted a fairy-tale wedding." Asha stood, smoothing the long off-white skirts over Max's hips. Cindy said the fabric was brocade or something expensive-sounding. Even the flowing sleeves of the dress looked expensive and delicate. "Logan's dad wouldn't let her get married at the castle at Disneyland, so she settled for a fairy-tale dress instead."

"Just be glad the waist is high enough, Maxie. That way, five years from now, the baby won't ask why Mommy was all fat at the wedding." Jondy ducked and grinned as Max lunged for her. "Be careful. If you rip that dress, Logan might--"

The door from the church opened, and Alec poked his head in. "I hope no one's decent." He grinned, dodging the hairbrush that Asha chucked at the door. "Lex is ready to begin, and the other priest-guy is starting to really creep me out."

Jondy was surprised to see Max blush. Her little sister muttered something about explaining later.

"Give us five," Cindy said, moving to close the door on Alec. "Miracle Boy waited this long, he can wait another minute to get his groove thing on."

Alec snorted. "So not an image I need now..." The door shut quietly behind him.

"C'mere, boo." Cindy dragged Max away from the mirror and hugged her tight. "You look beautiful. And if you don't melt Logan's heart, you'll definitely make the brother-man's little soldier happy." 

"Like that didn't get me in trouble in the first place." Max rested her head on Original Cindy's shoulder. Jondy could almost see the years that they'd been together, and how much she'd missed of her little sister's life. "I can't believe we finally got here." "You just like the post office, boo. Fires, floods, viruses, evil cult men and their black helicopter boys--you beat the shit outta them all." Original Cindy's face grew serious. "And no matter how many times you run, you always came back. And this sistah's proud of you for that. You made it work, sugar. Even if we had to put a smackdown on your ass a few times to keep you going." 

Max chuckled, and even from where she sat, Jondy could see tears in her baby sister's eyes. "Kinda hard to forget the plan when Joshua keeps asking if me 'n Logan are getting busy."

Original Cindy leaned closer, kissing Max's cheek. "We come full circle, boo. That's what this whole family shit's all about." And before Jondy could feel too left out, Cindy reached out for her too, drawing her into their circle. "All my girls."

The door opened again, and someone coughed discreetly. "Logan's starting to panic. Unless you want the man to have a coronary, we might wanna get this show rolling." Alec stopped in front of the mirror and fumbled with his tie. Jondy tried not to laugh as Asha stood with a sigh and fixed it for him. Over the blonde's shoulder, Alec winked at Jondy.

As the others trailed out into the vestibule of the church, Cindy caught Jondy's hand one last time. "She still your baby sister, sugar. You missed a few years, but you're back together again." Original Cindy smoothed some of Jondy's long hair back behind her headband. "Ain't nothin' can't break you two apart, not even some hip lesbian who loves your girl like family." 

If Max hadn't fallen through the ice that night, and they'd stayed together... No one could say if Zack would have still focused so much on finding Maxie. He might even still be alive now if things had gone different. But it was hard to compare and weigh the life of her sister with the life of Zack. If they would've stayed together, the way Tawny and Syl had, and Krit and Zane, and even Ben and Jet... "We could've rocked this world together," Jondy finally said softly, leaning into the other woman's arm around her shoulders. 

"You two rockin' it now, boo. Full circle." And with a kiss to her forehead, Cindy ran to catch up with Star.

Jondy heard a familiar song being played on a slightly out of tune organ as she entered into the vestibule of the church. Max clung to Joshua's arm, a panicked look on her face. It was the same look that she'd worn the night of the escape, right after Lydecker shot down big sister Eva in front of their eyes. 

Syl took a deep breath and followed Asha down the aisle of the small side-chapel. Looking through the doorway, Jondy could see the men and a little brown-haired girl clustered around Lex and Father Destry in the heart of the chapel. A statue of the Blue Lady stood behind them. For once, the Virgin Mary's smile actually looked kind and compassionate, as if she really did give a shit.

Cindy and Star followed. Counting the beats of the Wedding March, Jondy knew it was almost her turn. She held out her hand to Max until her sister gripped her arm, wrist to wrist, the same way they had when they were small. "I'm here, baby sister. We all are. We're gonna kick this bitch for good."

Max nodded, eyes wide. There was a small smile on her face, the same one Jondy remembered from when Ben used to make shadow puppets on the wall for them. She leaned in to kiss her sister, and then began her walk down the narrow aisle between the ten rows of pews.

The past wasn't something she could fix or change, but they still had a long time ahead of them. No more of this borrowed time crap. They'd live each moment, because transgenic or human, you never knew which moment would be your last.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Quit it," Logan muttered to Jordan, who was jingling his keys in his jacket pocket. His nephew stood at Jordan's feet, staring at the bulge that Jordan's hand made in the jacket. At least the little boy didn't have Jordan's leg in a death grip anymore. 

The girls had reached the center of the side-chapel, Syl and Krit standing together, Star and Cindy with their arms about each other's waists. Asha stood behind Alec at the organ, hands on his shoulders as he played, though Alec tried to look nonchalant about it. Jondy paused, as if she couldn't decide where to stand. Her face lit up at the sight of her brother Eri, standing next to Tawny. Eri's little girl Eva just looked around the chapel with a vacant look in her brown eyes, clutching a basket full of red and white flower petals.

"If I have to quit it, you have to quit tapping your toes," Jordan muttered back as Jondy moved to take her place beside them. "The exoskeleton makes those weird-ass mechanical noises when you do that."

"Or you two could both shut up before I attach your lips to your ass," Jondy threatened with a bright smile on her face. Logan chuckled as Jordan's jaw dropped. His cousin could now almost be considered a grown-up man, but he still had a way to go.

As the music shifted into the bridal theme that Logan remembered all too well, he couldn't help seeing flashbacks from his first wedding. Val had trailed down the formal staircase at Uncle Jonas' to this same music. So many people had been crowded into the great room that Logan remembered feeling like his bow-tie was strangling him. He'd felt no connection to anyone in that crowd except for maybe one or two people. One of those stood with him the second time, even though she was ten years older. But the bride that he waited for here wasn't cold and already calculating her next step to social domination. His life with Max had never been conventional, but if Logan wanted a normal life, he probably wouldn't have gone into the saving the world business in the first place.

She was beautiful. There was no other word for Max as she walked down the aisle with Joshua. Her curls were gathered up on the top of her head, the same way she'd worn her hair in that dream four years ago. She looked like a fairy-tale in his mother's wedding dress, Beauty at her Beast's side, white train trailing behind her. Logan had to admit that the canine transgenic cleaned up well. Alec had even convinced Joshua to slick his thick hair back. It had been hard enough trying to find a tux that would fit the big loveable beast...

As Max and Joshua approached, Logan could see her eyes light up at the sight of Eri and Jet. It had been easy enough to find Jet. Convincing him to come back to a country he hadn't set foot in for almost ten years was another story. It had only been a week since they'd been back in Seattle, but everything had fallen perfectly into place. Crowded in a pew with Sketchy were the five transgenics Max had first helped over the border after the fall of Manticore. Bullet and Ralph held hands while twelve year old Bugler made faces. The rest of the bridal attendants gradually filed into the first pew on the other side of the chapel. 

Max stopped in front of him, giving him that beautiful smile that was his alone. Logan held out his hand to her, but before she could take it, Joshua picked her up and set her on his other side.

"Not until I give you away, little fella," the transgenic said, looking to Lex for approval. Lex nodded, smiling slightly.

As the wedding march faded into silence, Alec moved to Max's other side, taking her free arm in his. At her surprised look, Logan watched Alec lean in to whisper in her ear. "Medium Fella gets to have a part in this too, don't I?"

At Lex's cough, everyone turned to face the two priests. Lex opened the worn leather book he held in his hands, and flipped to the page he wanted in a practiced gesture. "We're gathered here tonight to witness the love that binds the two individuals before us: Logan Robert Cale, Jr. and Max Guevara. Who gives this bride to be wed?"

Joshua stepped forward, dragging Max and Alec with him. "That's us. We do. Me and Alec." He gently removed Max's hand from his arm and pushed her towards Logan. "Now you two can get busy. Little fella's yours now."

Logan could feel his face burning. From the snickers coming from the pews, he knew every transgenic had heard that too.

"Take care of her, Logan." Alec placed Max's other hand in Logan's, his eyes serious. "If you don't make her happy, she's got this whole family who's willing to put you in a world of hurt."

Lex coughed again. Alec shot the other X-5 a hurt look as he moved back to stand with Asha and Sketchy. "Marriage," Lex started, once again becoming Father Alexander, "is a very solemn occasion. True love is what has brought us here together."

As Lex continued to read from the book in his hands, Logan noticed Jordan shaking slightly at his side. He resisted the urge to kick his cousin in the shins. 

"Twue wove," Jordan mouthed to him, trying to stifle his laughter. It took a moment for Logan to recognize the quote. It was sort of appropriate for his cousin to quote the Princess Bride at his wedding... Looking down at his feet, Logan noticed a small black combat boot pressing on his foot before retreating back beneath the long white wedding dress. Max glared at Logan and Jordan before turning her attention back to her brother.

"World of hurt," he thought he heard her mutter. It wouldn't surprise him too much if he was right.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The ceremony was brief. Max couldn't remember too much of it, aside from the shock of seeing her entire family together, and the constant sound of Jordan snickering behind Logan. It wasn't like she'd expected some perfect wedding. She had hoped that the ceremony would've been more memorable...

When it came time to say the vows, she could almost feel a sense of anticipation building in her stomach. It was either that, or the burrito from South Market that she and Jondy had grabbed on the way over. This was the moment that normal girls dreamed of from the time they were nine years old. It was the moment she would pledge her life to Logan for as long as mortally possible.

But when she opened her mouth to speak the words he'd already heard twice before, they wouldn't come. It wasn't something she even needed to say. She unconsciously pledged her life to Logan more than four years ago, when she first risked her ass to save his unconscious body before Bruno Anselmo took his hospital room out with a rocket launcher.

"There were times I was lost, and you found me," she said finally, looking up into Logan's eyes. "It was usually at the top of the Space Needle, or in the sewers, but you always found me. You never gave up hope." He smiled that blinding smile that always made her insides melt. Her smile. He was hers. "Life sucked ass for a while, but you always believed that we'd make it through. Even when I tried my hardest to push you away, you never left completely. You've always been there when I needed you."

"That's never going to change, Max," Logan interjected. She could still see the toll of those years on his face. With all the shit they went through, Max was still surprised that his hair wasn't gray. "That never will change." 

He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. "Times have been good, and times have been bad. Times have gone to hell in a hand basket, but our love has endured...and triumphed. Through passion, through sorrow and hope..."

"Through death and life," Max added. But from the look in his eyes, Logan didn't need to be reminded of that particular miracle.

"No matter what tomorrow brings," he continued, his hand sliding up to touch her cheek. Max felt tears trickling down her face, but for once, she didn't mind crying like a girl. "We'll face it together."

"Crossed paths by fate, partners by choice. Gonna embark on the greatest adventure two people can share, right?" Max reached up under Logan's glasses to wipe at his eyes with her sleeve. He chuckled.

"As long as you don't mind a tag along. Partner."

She grinned back at him. "Partner."

Lex held out his hands to Jondy and Jordan. "The rings, please."

Max fingered the gold ring that Jondy handed her. Her finger had almost seemed naked without the wedding band. It was amazing how fast she got used to twisting it around her finger. It didn't seem as heavy as she'd thought it would.

"Repeat after me," Lex said softly. He took her left hand and placed it in Logan's. "I, Logan, take thee Max to be my lawfully-wedded wife."

Logan's hand shook as he slipped the ring on Max's finger. "I, Logan, take thee Max to be my lawfully-wedded wife."

Max's brother turned to her, a gentle look in his brown eyes. "Maxie?" Logan's left hand was warm in hers. "I, Max, take thee Logan to be my lawfully-wedded husband."

Slipping the ring on Logan's finger, Max repeated the words. Logan squeezed her hand as they turned to face Lex again.

"Is there anyone here who sees some reason why these two cannot be wed?" When Max glared at Lex, her brother only shrugged. "I have to ask, Maxie. It's nothing personal." He turned his own glare out across the small chapel. "But I'll kick the ass of anyone who has a reason."

Father Destry coughed, but didn't say anything.

When no one spoke, Lex turned to Max and Logan again with an expectant look. "The ayes have it, little sister. I now pronounce you man and wife." He grinned at them. "You can kiss if you want."

From what Logan said, most couples only exchanged chaste little kisses at the wedding. He said it had something to do with the proper amount of tongue and church. Her husband didn't look too disappointed when she kissed him full on the lips. No point in trying to be conventional now. And it wasn't like everyone didn't know they did it like rabbits anyway.

When they finally broke apart, Max was surprised to hear cheering fill the small chapel. She turned around to find her family surrounding her, all wearing silly grins.

"Congrats, baby sister," Tawny said, plucking her from Logan's arms to give her a hug of his own. Max found herself passed around like a plate of hors d'oeuvres as each of her brothers and sisters kissed her in congratulations and luck. She finally found herself facing the brother she hadn't seen since the escape.

"Maxie." Jet's green eyes were as serious as they'd been that night in '09. He'd always been like Zack--quick to follow orders, quick to look after anyone who needed it. No one ever told her why he decided to leave the country a decade ago, but Max knew he hadn't set a foot back on the continent since then.

"Hey, big brother." She stared back at him, not quite sure what to say. No amount of pleading or threatening on anyone's part over the past five years had gotten him to come back. But here he was. "I missed you."

His hand, large like all of her brothers', reached out to touch the bridge of her nose. He smiled a small smile that almost looked like Zack's. "Missed you too, baby sister." He pushed his long sandy hair out of his eyes before shoving his hands in his pockets. Jet had always been the fidgety one. He took apart anything he got his hands on and loved heights even more than Jondy. "Just wanted to make sure that this guy was okay. Tawny gave his thumbs up, so I figured Logan-boy couldn't be too bad."

"So you came all the way from Ireland to make sure the guy I was gonna marry was okay?" If it would've been fifteen years ago, or even ten years ago, Max would've reached out and tickled him on the right side of his stomach, just to make him laugh. Jet was like Jondy, always laughing when they were small, when he wasn't falling out of trees or off the High Place trying to fly. That was Ben's fault, telling stories about the flying transgenics that worked for the Blue Lady.

Jet's face broke into a smile briefly, and for a moment, Max rested in her brother's arms, listening to the familiar sound of his heart against her cheek. "I had to come back eventually, Maxie. And since you're all bent up on this family shit, I figured I might as well be here, since someone else couldn't be."

"I think the Father's getting anxious. Midnight mass starts in half an hour, so it's probably time to move this party," Tawny said, standing on one of the pews. "Alec and I arranged a little reception if anyone's interested."

"If we're going to the Cherry Bomb, you can think again, Alec," Max warned, glaring across the crowd at the X-5 that cowered behind Asha.

"Gimme some credit, Maxie." Max didn't buy Alec's innocent look for a minute. "The Big Rhino rents out its back room and--" He ducked as Max chucked her bridal bouquet at him. Jondy reached out a hand and caught it casually before tossing it back to Max. "Kidding, Max. Geez, try to find your sense of humor next time. Dani from my old squad works at a restaurant over in Sector Nine. She said we could have the back room until morning if we wanted it. The food and all that crap's over there waiting for us."

Ten minutes later, Max was racing Alec and Jondy down the street, Logan clinging behind her on her Ninja. Jondy and Syl had helped her tuck up the skirts of her wedding dress and belt Alec's leather jacket over everything. She could hear Jondy hooting behind them, and Jordan hollering for her to slow down before she killed someone.

"So that's why you wore the combat boots," her husband whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her cheek. "I wondered what happened to those little white heels Cindy found you." "The stilettos? You can dance in heels. You can't ride a motorcycle in heels. Or kick your brother's ass when he beats you to the restaurant." As she shifted gear, her Ninja's engine began to purr. "It was a theme thing. Everyone else wore them."

"Which makes it okay then." She could feel Logan's hands brushing away the hair at the back of her neck to kiss her barcode. "Sounds good to me, Mrs. Cale."

Mrs. Cale. Max Guevara Cale. That sounded pretty good.

"That reminds me," he shouted over the wind as they turned down 7th Street. "Sam called while you were out with Joshua."

"And?" She leaned back a little, letting the bike slow down. Alec shouted something as he and Asha pushed past, but Max didn't really pay attention. 

"Our daughter's perfectly healthy." Logan kissed her neck. "The tests came back completely normal. Apparently she's got a nicely-ordered genetic code too."

The Ninja slowed to a stop. Max turned to face her husband, careful not to rip the slip she wore under the wedding dress. "Daughter?"

Logan nodded, a small smile on his face. He took her hand in his as they straddled the bike, kissing it gently. "Daughter, Max. It's a girl."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jondy fidgeted with her fork, trying not to look at the mechanical bull that sat in the corner. It was only a matter of time before one of her siblings challenged someone to a contest. Beating Max and Alec on their bikes hadn't been as fun as the first time around. Maybe it was because Jordan had been screeching like a little girl in her ear the whole time.

"If they stopped to get busy on the way, I'm going to be extremely pissed off," Alec commented as he flopped down in the chair beside her. "Impressed, but pissed. I put a lot of effort into all this crap."

"It's only been five minutes. You can't get too creative in five minutes." Tawny slid a beer towards Alec as he sat on the other side of the table. Her brother looked thoughtful. "Well..."

Syl groaned. "Don't even go there, big brother. Everything I heard from the time of the escape til Zack split us up again was bad enough. Little sisters shouldn't know that much about their brother's sex lives."

"You've lost your sense of adventure, little sister," Tawny said, reaching out and grabbing a bit of Syl's long blond hair. "Where's the Lia I knew and loved before she hit puberty." Syl stuck her tongue out at Tawny. "She grew up, like the rest of you did." But the look on her face wasn't as annoyed as Jondy expected. Syl and Tawny had been close ever since Zack paired them off before the escape. They were some of the lucky ones who stayed together. If she and Max had stayed together... "Max!" Her baby sister and brother-in-law finally trailed in, both looking slightly stunned. "Maxie?" But before Jondy could hop over the table to rush to her sister, Max stopped in the front of the room.

"It's a girl." Max's words tumbled out in a rush. "Dr. Carr says she's healthy and she won't have a tail and--" Her sister's brown eyes blinked as she stopped. Jondy could see new tears welling up in Max's eyes. "A girl."

"Wait, you're pregnant, Max?" Sketchy's voice broke the stunned silence. "So that's why the wedding..." Original Cindy smacked him upside the head on her way to hug Max. "Stick with the weed, boo. The hard stuff's scrambling your brain."

"Toldja, Maxie." Tawny smirked as he kissed Max in congratulations. "She's gonna have Daddy wrapped around her little finger."

"She already does," Jondy said, nodding towards Logan and the dopey look he got whenever he looked at Max's stomach. She hung back as the others congratulated her sister and brother-in-law. Eri even got Eva to hug Max, something that looked like it surprised both of them. 

"Looks like they're gonna get that happily ever after, huh?" Jordan breathed in Jondy's ear. His warmth at her back was comforting, even if she didn't let herself lean into his body. 

"They deserve it." But Jondy couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice, and she knew that Jordan would never believe her anyway. All a lie usually took was a wide-eyed look, but Jordan seemed like he was a purveyor of the same tactic, if not the inventor.

"So do you, Jon." She felt his lips brush the top of her head. "I'm sure you'll get it someday. Your prince is still out there."

Alec made a second start with Asha after that whole thing with Rachel. Maybe it was possible that there was some other guy out there, even though that guy would never be her prince. A pretty stable-boy might suffice though...a stable-boy aspiring to be a hero.

"My prince died three years ago when he killed himself so that Manticore could transplant his heart to Maxie."

"But if someone else came along," Jordan persisted, turning her around to face him. "If another guy came along, one who wasn't a prince." He gave her a serious look. "Princes with pedigrees are highly over-rated."

She couldn't help cracking a smile. "If that guy asked now," she said slowly, "the answer would probably be no. I need time, and..." 

Jordan nodded in understanding. He gave her shoulders one last squeeze before moving away.

"But if that guy asked later on--" The words popped out of her mouth before Jondy could stop them. Jordan turned, giving her the same bright smile that she usually saw Logan give Max.

"That guy's making a note of it on her calendar. Can he ask you to dance instead?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It wasn't a traditional wedding reception, but Logan didn't mind. Guests came and went, until he thought he saw the entire transgenic population of Seattle at some point in the night. He danced with Max, with Jondy, even with Eri's little girl. Both his niece and nephew crashed about halfway through the night, falling asleep on Max's train under one of the tables.

He remembered lots of toasts, more drinking, and even rode the mechanical bull at one point. Logan knew that was a mistake as soon as the exoskeleton gave a half-hearted whir and belched a little smoke, especially since Syl and Zane took the opportunity to rewire the entire apparatus. They promised to return it in the morning, but that meant that he was stuck in the ever-present wheelchair he still kept in the back of the Aztek.

By morning, Joshua and most of the other guests had gone home, leaving Max's siblings sprawled out in chairs and on top of the tables. Even Alec looked half-asleep, his head resting in Asha's lap. Jordan still couldn't believe that Austin Barlow's little sister, the same one that Aunt Margot had stuck in the bathtub with Jordan when they were five, was the leader of S1W. 

"Might as well head out," Max said, extracting herself from his lap. Turning his wrist over, she squinted at his watch. "Shit. I'm supposed to be at work in half an hour ago."

Alec snorted, not even bothering to sit up. "It's your honeymoon, Max. I don't think Normal expects you in today." He lifted his head up, giving her an evil grin. "Course, if you wanna stop by Jam Pony on the way back to the penthouse..."

"I gotta get time off for August anyway. Gem's balance was totally thrown off when she was ready to pop. Don't think I'll be able to ride a bike then." Max held out her hand to Alec, hauling him up.

"Might have to give up that sweet little Ninja of yours for a while, huh? You'd probably wanna leave her in good hands, and since Jondy's already got her baby and yours truly's stuck with a piece of shit bike..." Alec rubbed his hands together with a grin.

"When you cut off your own testicles and manage to grow a set of ovaries, then I might let you borrow my bike." Alec's smirk faded as Max cracked her knuckles.

"We could take a family field trip, give the visiting relatives a tour of Jam Pony," Jondy suggested as they started to gather up their stuff. She helped Max stuff the skirts of her wedding dress into Alec's old leather jacket again. "Tell him you're Alec's sibs, and he'll offer you a job in five seconds flat. Admit you know Max, and you're doomed to the land of Bip Bip Bips."

Max leaned in to kiss Logan as she headed towards the door. "Wanna ride? I'll take it slow." She gave him a crooked grin as he shook his head.

"I think I'll just meet you there, Max," Logan said hastily, wheeling himself towards the Aztek. "Be careful."

She gave him that dazzling smile of hers. His wife. Mrs. Cale. "Always."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're late, missy. And evening wear is never workplace appropriate, no matter who your uncle is," Normal shouted from his dispatch cage as Jondy walked in, her family trailing behind. "And no, we're not hiring."

"Aren't I allowed to be late the morning after my sister's wedding?" She leaned up against the dispatch counter, giving Normal her best pleading eyes. "You aren't yelling at Alec for coming in late."

"Sister?" Normal looked between her and Max, finally noticing the white dress. Jondy could almost see the light bulb going on in Normal's dull little mind. "You would be her sister," he muttered. "My best riders, and they all have to be related to her. I suppose this means that you got married, Missy?"

"Nah, I just felt like wearing white, even though it isn't Memorial Day yet." Max leaned on the counter beside Jondy, grinning. "Actually, I came cuz I'll need some time off soon."

"Three days for your honeymoon, Mrs. Cale. You didn't schedule the wedding around a weekend like I told that husband of yours." Normal muttered something about not being invited to the wedding. It surprised Jondy that he would even care.

"This is for August, Normal." Max rolled her eyes. "Logan's cousin mentioned something called FMLA, and I'll need that."

"That's the Family Medical Leave Act, Missy miss. You can't have that unless you're--" The older man trailed off, his mouth hanging open like the fish in the creek in the training yard. To Jondy's surprise, Normal's usually constipated face softened. "August, huh?"

Max nodded, looking almost shy for once. She reached behind her to Logan in his wheelchair and caught his hand.

"I warned you, son. I warned you the first moment you walked in here, looking for her." Normal looked them both over for a minute and nodded. "At least you're sure she isn't a transsexual. Never date a woman who used to be a man." Jondy heard someone cough behind her, probably Original Cindy. "Three months. If you're not back here in December for the Christmas rush, Missy, no job for you." As if he finally realized where he was, Normal turned to glare at the rest of the employees. "What are you ingrates looking at? Bip, people! Bip!"

"We've got a lot of work," Jondy said, slipping her hand into her sister's as they walked back out to their motorcycles. "Gotta redecorate the guest room, get baby furniture... You'll probably need clothes and blankets and all that crap. Gotta find me a place too, since our nephew needs a place to crash."

Max stopped dead in her tracks. "You're gonna stay?" Her sister's brown eyes had that same hopeful look Jondy remembered from the barracks, when they'd beg Ben for shadow puppets on the walls to help them sleep.

"Missed this much of your life, baby sister," Jondy said with a grin, pushing one of Max's dark curls back from her face. "I'm not leaving you all alone with these guys and a baby. I'm sure Logan and Alec'll be a big help, but..."

Her little sister laughed. "Betcha five bucks I can get Alec to change the first diaper."

Six months. She could hang in Seattle for another six months, at least to make sure that the baby was born all right. They didn't need to lose another baby. And sisters were a hard commodity to come by in Post-Pulse Seattle.


	9. Epilogue: Always

Even Though It's Painful...Always  
Epilogue: Always

For Tim, who counted the number of times the word "bathtub" appeared in this story. For buggs, who still asks me if it's done yet. And for Glenna, who met me in Roswell, followed me to Tortall, and pushes me towards Trinity.

And always, always for Laura, world's best beta, who helped out with this story probably more than she'll ever know. *g*   
  
_Even the setting sun that sinks like it was caught on fire is alone   
Unable to embrace the earth or the seas   
Though sleeping deep down at the bottom of my heart   
  
Whenever I see your tears I can't bear it   
It makes me want to embrace you tightly from behind   
  
I love you so much it breaks me no words are enough   
I also have love that I can't express   
  
_

Can't become a man by only having been born   
True strength definitely begins from love   
  
If there's a smile beyond your tears   
I'll watch over you like the dependable guy I am  
  
I love you so much it breaks me no words are enough  
If it's a love that won't be granted then I'll only wish for your happiness  
The setting sun sinks again as it embraced its passion   
It reaches its hidden sleep even though it's painful...always   
--"Setsunakutemo...Zutto" translated by Tasuki No Miko   
(http://www.crosswinds.net/~tasukinomiko/Anime/FY/) Translated lyrics used with permission.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
August 7, 2025  
  


Her skin was the same creamy caramel color of her mother's, clusters of honey-brown curls covering her head. He could already see the beginnings of his nose, his blue eyes set in a smaller version of his own face. She slept, but even in her sleep, she smiled her mother's smile on her full baby lips.

Logan cradled his daughter in his arms. She was five hours old, a healthy seven pounds, four ounces, and he still couldn't believe that she was here, in the penthouse apartment that had already seen enough destruction and loss. His daughter.

"She's mine too," Max said as she shifted in their bed. She held out her arms for the baby just as their daughter's mouth opened to cry. "Someone eats more than Zane and Joshua combined."

Logan sat on the bed, slipping an arm around Max's shoulders as she nursed their daughter. "Sounds kinda like a cat I used to know." He kissed the top of her head, his eyes never leaving their daughter's small face. "God, she's beautiful." 

"The most singularly beautiful face you've ever seen?" Max grinned up at him. The baby opened her blue eyes, peering up at him and Max with a curious look on her face. The blue eyes focused on Max's neck, and a small hand reached up to grab at the locket Max still wore at her throat.

"Mom said I used to do that when I was little. Did I ever tell you why my father gave that locket to her?"

Max leaned back against his chest, moving until she half-rested in his lap. "You said he gave it to her when you were born, because she gave him the greatest gift."

Logan reached out to touch his daughter's hand as her fingers curled around the locket. "My mother told me to give it to the woman who gave me the same gift--my first child."

"But you gave it to me--" She stopped, dropping her brown eyes to the baby in her lap. "That night I transfused you." 

Leaning in, he kissed her cheek, and then their baby's small hand. "I figured you were probably as close as I'd ever get, Max. And I was right."

They sat for a while, watching their daughter drift off to sleep again. Logan felt himself nodding off as Max drooped against his shoulder. He didn't hear the door open quietly, or the sound of two sets of transgenic footsteps, and one child following behind. 

"Whose baby?" a small voice asked. Logan found himself staring into a pair of hazel eyes. "Whose baby, Uncle Logan?"

"That's our baby, Max. Your little cousin. She finally decided to come stay with us." Reaching out his arm, he pulled the small boy onto the bed beside him. Little Max peered at his cousin with wide eyes.

"Whatsername?" Even at four years old, his nephew already knew the importance of names in their family. "Didjou name her Eva like Uncle Eri's Eva? Or Jondy after Tia Jondy?" A thumb found its way into his nephew's mouth. "Or after Mama?"

"Joshua voted for Annie, since Gem named hers Cici. He can't wait to paint Littlest Fella," Alec said softly, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. Jondy settled beside him, her eyes never leaving the baby. 

Max shifted their daughter slightly so that the little boy could get a better look. "Meet Hope Marie Guevara Cale," she said softly, looking at Jondy. Jondy smiled slightly and nodded, what looked like tears in her eyes.

"Hi, Hopie," the little boy whispered, kissing Hope's small hand. "Is she gonna sleep with me, or is she gonna stay in here?" Little Max looked towards the crib that was already set up in the corner.

"She'll stay with me and Uncle Logan for a while, Max. Then we'll move her bed into the nursery that you and Uncle Alec painted last week." His wife leaned down to touch their daughter's soft curls. "Sound like a good plan, Hope?"

"We always need hope," Logan's sister-in-law said, ducking her head so that her light brown hair hid her face for a moment. "That way she has her own name." Transgenics had bad luck enough without cursing a baby with leftover troubles inherited from a dead namesake.

"You had no trouble?" Alec reached out a tentative hand to touch Hope's cheek. "She's soft. I didn't know babies were that soft." He coughed, backing up as if he didn't want to look too interested. "Small too."

"She popped out about a half hour after you guys left. Sam and Bling gave her a clean bill of health, signed the birth certificate, and headed out about an hour after that." Logan still couldn't believe how easy it had gone. He'd expected complications, seizures, any number of things. But here was their daughter, no tail, no barcode, no virus.

"Cindy and Star're coming over later. They want to meet their niece." Jondy held out her arms, and Max gently settled Hope in them. With her hair and eyes almost the same color as the baby's, Jondy could've almost passed for Hope's mother. "Blue eyes. Just like--"

Max scooted over to sit behind her sister, resting her chin on Jondy's shoulder. "We're not ancient, big sister. There's still time."

Hope yawned in her sleep. Jondy reached out a finger to trace the baby's face. "Maybe. Maybe…" She handed the baby back to Max before standing up. "She's beautiful, Maxie. She'll be hell later, but she's beautiful."

"She might not be as bad as we were. We didn't walk til we were eight months old." Max grinned back at her sister. "Remember when the Watchers found you on the top of the bookshelf?"

"You were the one who figured out that if we rocked our cribs, we could tip them over," Jondy shot back with the same grin. "It was the pallets after that."

And it suddenly dawned on Logan what raising two transgenic children might be like. They already had problems keeping their nephew on the ground. If Hope had her mother's love of high places…

"Just as long as she inherits your creativity and not Max's, you'll be just fine, Logan." Alec clapped him on the shoulder, his grin bordering on a smirk. "Well, until she figures out that whole walking thing…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word," Max crooned. Jondy could feel her own eyes drifting shut at the sound of her sister's soft voice. Hope lay in Max's lap, one hand holding her bottle, the other hand clinging to the locket her sister wore around her neck. At nearly a year old, Hope was already maneuvering around almost as well her cousin Max. Jondy knew her brother-in-law loved moments like these, when their usually hectic household was quiet, and he could watch his girls as much as he wanted.

She couldn't say that it had been an easy year. Syl was pregnant, figuring that it was as safe as it would ever be for them to reproduce. Alec and Asha were shacked up in Sector 6, and Jondy still spent half her time sleeping on the daybed in Hope's nursery, just because Star and Original Cindy were slowly making the old apartment into their own love nest. Jordan hadn't been around too much lately. This little family vacation was his idea, but he'd spent most of his time out with Logan and little Max, hiking and fishing. She had one night with Jordan and the babies while Max and Logan went out into the woods for whatever, but her sister didn't ever need to hear about that night.

"Do not adjust your sets, this is a Streaming Freedom video." As soon as Logan's familiar Eyes Only broadcast lit up the screen, Max grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the tv. The voice didn't belong to her brother-in-law's cable hack alter ego though. 

"We know you're out there, 452. We know you left Seattle for the week. We know you have the boy. Don't think we're going to let you get away again. You've cost us almost a billion dollars in damages and potential investments, and you know your DNA isn't worth that much. We'll be around to collect, so you might want to prepare." The voiceover faded out, leaving Logan's familiar tag line. "Peace. Out."

As the picture faded, Jondy ran to where Max sat in the rocker and knelt at her side. "Maxie?" Her little sister looked paler than Jondy had ever seen her. "Baby sister…"

Max stood slowly, putting Hope in Jondy's arms. "I gotta go. If they know where we are--"

The door flew open. Before Jordan could even cough, Max had him pinned to the ground, arms twisted behind his back. "Max, let go," he grunted, knowing better than to twist out of her grip. "Max, there's guys searching in town, they know we're here somewhere…" Max let go, falling to her knees beside Jordan as he sat up and coughed. "Your black helicopter boys are back, little sister." Jondy didn't know when Jordan had picked up the nickname, or what it implied, but it still sounded natural coming from him.

Without a word, Max made her way to the closet. Jondy wasn't too surprised to see a black catsuit and leather vest come out of the bag her sister brought from Seattle. Hope still slept in Jondy's arms, bottle clutched tight in one hand. It was only a matter of seconds before Max stood before her again, the same sick look on her face that Jondy remembered from the night they escaped.

"I'm coming with you." But even before she could finish saying the words, Max shook her head.

"You're staying here with Jordan until Logan gets back. And that's an order, soldier!" Max snapped, reaching into the pocket of her leather vest for an envelope. Jondy looked at it in surprise as her sister shoved it into her hands. "Manticore's motto, big sister. Always be prepared." Her sister wore the same blank soldier face that they'd all worn outside the barracks, but Max's eyes… Jondy tried not to look in her sister's brown eyes. "Tell Logan…"

And for the second time in her life, Jondy had to look into her sister's brown eyes and make a decision that could risk her sister's life. "The ice, Maxie. It's the ice…" She took Max's hands in hers. "You made it under the ice that night, Max. You told me to go on without you. We got out of that. We'll get out of this. Together."

Max shook her head. She unfastened the chain from around her neck and slipped it over the baby's head. "Tell Logan," she repeated, curling Jondy's fist around the envelope. "Two days. The High Place. But get him out of here." And brave Maxie, the one who dared to defy Zack and the Colonel, swallowed a sob. "Tell him!"

Jondy nodded, biting her lip to keep from bawling. She shifted Hope to one arm and held out her hand to her sister. Max clasped her arm, wrist to wrist, the same way as when they were small. Before Max could let go, Jondy leaned in, kissing her sister lightly on the lips. "I'll give that to Logan. After I tell him." And before Jondy could say anything else, her sister opened the window and was gone.

She didn't even realize she was sobbing until she felt Jordan's arms around her, cradling her and Hope against his chest. "She'll be safe, Jondy. She'll be safe. We'll make it. We all will."

Jondy pushed back from him, not knowing what else to do. She paced around the bedroom, trying not to look at the window where her sister had disappeared. 48 hours. She had 48 hours to prepare her brother-in-law for another fight for his life.

"It wasn't supposed to be a fairytale. It wasn't supposed to be--" Jondy stopped, swallowed, trying to calm her gasping lungs. "We aren't--" But her voice squeaked again, and as hard as she tried, she couldn't keep the tears from falling. "Fuck it! No matter how hard we try, or how far we run, Manticore always comes back…"

This time, Jordan sat on the bed, out of the way of her frantic pacing. "Then stop them. You've got an entire army of transgenics. Most of them are still hanging out in Seattle. Use them, Jondy. Beat the shit out of the ones who created you." He reached out to touch Hope's small hand as it dangled across Jondy's arm. "For her. And for Syl's baby." For a moment, his blue eyes looked like Logan's, and Jondy could almost believe that Jordan Cale had a little bit of a super hero in his blood too. "For us."

Jordan reached out, drawing her into his lap. She let him, just like she'd let him just a few nights before. The fight wasn't over, but that didn't mean it couldn't be won once and for all…

She didn't know how long they sat there, but a pounding at the front door finally woke them out of whatever trance they'd been in. Jondy set Hope in the center of the large bed as Jordan reached for the hand gun that Logan still kept in the bedside table. She motioned for him to walk ahead of her. He nodded, eyes serious for once. Jordan might've actually made it as an X-5. He looked as good as Alec or any of her other brothers did in leather.

The knocking grew more insistent as they made their way to the door. "Who is it?" Jordan called out, careful to keep the gun hidden in the waistband of his jeans.

"FBI. We just want to ask you a few questions."

At Jondy's nod, Jordan opened the door. She was impressed at how cool he managed to appear, in spite of the four men dressed in black Kevlar that stood on the porch of the cabin. "Can I help you gentlemen?" His voice didn't even crack as he spoke, even if he did keep one hand in his pocket, almost stroking the gun.

The four agents flashed authentic-looking FBI badges before pushing their way inside. "This your cabin?" the first one asked as he looked around. He nodded to Jondy. "Ma'am."

"I'm Jordan Cale. This is my family's cabin. We've owned it since the '90s. Is there something I can help you with?" Jordan repeated.

"There was a felon who escaped from the prison up at Well's Point. We just wanted to make sure everyone was safe," the second agent answered with a more realistic smile than Ames White's crew ever managed to fake. The first agent began to stroll about the front room. "Mind if we take a look around?"

"There's no one here but my wife and I, sir." Jordan gave the agents his charming smile, slipping his free arm around Jondy. Jondy tried her best to give the men the same wide-eyed vacant look that always worked on the Colonel.

But before any of the agents could respond, a wail sounded throughout the cabin. Jondy excused herself and ran down the hall, only to find Hope toddling out of the bedroom. Jondy tried not to laugh at the fact that her niece had once again managed to defy gravity and the developmental expectations for normal babies. The baby wailed as she held her arms out to Jondy, tears spilling down her round cheeks. "Mama!"

"Hon?" Jordan's voice was anxious as she walked back into the front room, Hope still clinging to her neck.

"Baby was just missing her mama's all," Jondy said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I think the loud voices woke her up."

"Mama," Hope murmured again, looking up at the agents with distrust in her teary blue eyes. Jondy was surprised that her niece didn't hiss at them.

"It's okay, baby, it's okay," she whispered to Hope, stroking her back gently. The baby quieted, whimpering softly.

"Mama," Hope murmured, snuggling further in Jondy's arms.

"So it's just you and your wife and the baby then, Mr. Cale?" The first agent actually looked embarrassed. "We're sorry to disturb you, sir."

And without a word, the agents left, as quickly as they'd come.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The cabin looked quiet when Logan drove up that evening. Nephew Max was asleep across the back seat of the Aztek, smelling of sun screen and fish. Logan felt bad for leaving Max at home, but Hope had been fussy last night, and she'd wanted to stay with the baby. Their daughter had never caught any of the usual childhood illnesses, but both of them wanted to play it safe nevertheless.

After he turned off the ignition, Logan opened the back door and scooped up his nephew. "Home now, Uncle Logan?" Max murmured against his neck. "Fishing's fun."

"Yeah, we're home now, kiddo. Maybe Uncle Jor'll help us fry up some for dinner."

"Fish's good. Healthy for me and Hopie to make us smart. That's what Uncle Alec says." The little boy yawned again and rested his sun-burnt cheek against Logan's shoulder. With one arm supporting his nephew, and the other cradling the newspaper-wrapped filets of fresh fish, Logan shouldered the door to the cabin open.

"Honey? I'm home!" But no one answered his call. "Max? Jondy?" Settling his nephew and the fish on the couch, Logan pounded his way into the bedroom. "Max?" 

But it was Jordan who sat in the rocking chair, Jondy and Hope cradled in his lap. Logan felt a chill creep up from his waist from his spine as his heart dropped into his stomach. Jondy's eyes looked just like Max's, right before she died in his arms that night…at Manticore…

"She's gone." The flatness of his own voice startled him. It was as if he was living that day all over again, when he lost her the first time. The day his life ended.

Jondy didn't say anything as she handed him a letter. It didn't surprise Logan too much that the letter was dated right after their wedding, over a year and a half ago.

_Logan,_

Every night before he went to sleep, Tinga used to tell Case a fairy tale. Remember? About the evil king who kept hunting the princess and her brothers and sisters? I just thought it was her way of explaining where we came from to her son, or even trying to make sense out of all that shit we went through in our poor excuse for a childhood. Maybe Tinga knew that she didn't have forever with Case and Charlie. Maybe that was her way of preparing her family for when she'd have to leave. We all know we'll have to leave sometime. It's just a matter of when.

I don't know when Jondy's going to give this to you. Our daughter might be six months old, or six, or sixteen. But I know she'll have to sometime, because Manticore will never let us go. White and his creepy-ass Familiars are gone, but the people who created me will always hunt me, even if they don't use Lydecker's face.

Tell her about her mama, and her aunts and uncles that loved her so much that they died to give her a safe life. Remind her and Max of how much their mamas love them, and how we'll think of them every day. 

I'll be back, Logan. I promise. I've put up with too much shit to give up for too long. We won't get happily ever after, but we're owed a few years somewhere down the line.

I love you. But I think you already knew that.

Yours. Always.

Max

The letter got blurry, and then it was wet. Someone took the paper out of his hands, and wrapped strong arms around him. He could feel two people pressed up against him. Someone's soft voice kept whispering something to him, but he couldn't hear it. Something about promising to bring her back, that this was the last time…

Logan pushed away finally, breathing in and out until he could feel his lungs returning to normal. He wiped at his eyes, not surprised to find them wet. It had taken Bling a week to get him off the couch the first time. This time, he had another reason to get up off his ass, a reason that Jondy slipped into his arms.

"Da?" Hope reached out with a small hand to pat his face. "Mama?"

"Mama's gone away for a while, sweetie. She'll be back soon, I promise." His voice cracked, but Logan managed to smile at his daughter. Their daughter. He leaned down to kiss the top of her curly head. "Daddy'll take care of you until Mama comes home again." 

"And Uncle Jor and Aunt Jondy," Jordan added, putting a hand on Logan's shoulder. "You're not alone in this, Logan. Not this time."

Not this time. Looking down at his daughter's face, Logan knew he had a lot more to live for, especially two little kids named Max and Hope.

"And when we take this bitch down this time, it'll be for good," Jondy said, giving Logan a bright smile. "I promise."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I'll be home for good one of these days. I promise. This is the last time I'll leave you…the last time Manticore will make me run. I'm getting pretty tired of running…

At least I know Logan will wait for me. In spite of all this shit, he never lost hope. Now, he'll never have to again.

_I love you so much it breaks me no words are enough  
If it's a love that won't be granted then I'll only wish for your happiness  
The setting sun sinks again as it embraced its passion   
It reaches its hidden sleep even though it's painful...always _

The End


End file.
